Author's note part 1: The Warnings and The Short Introduction

If you don't want sad and awful, just skip to chapter 2 and read my short version of a happy Hope Valley. These Author notes are long, more than half the story. I can ramble. After reading the warning feel free to skip to the actual story after the author notes. My rambling in the other notes explains where I'm coming from, though.

Warning! The dream has sex outside of marriage, gambling, gossiping, gluttony, and just plain awfulness. It's not explicit. Just talked of, mostly implied. It's my take on what is possible now that morality has left or is leaving Hope Valley or at least the former heroine and her choice. It is exaggerated.

Warning! This is not historically accurate. Think prohibition. Also, although it was often overlooked in the early years of the Canadian West being settled, solicitation, and bawdy houses and such were illegal in Canada until 2014.

I wrote this in answer to my husband who is forever saying that all hope for Elizabeth is lost now that she's a bar girl. Nobody is going to say it, but everyone will be thinking it. (He often references the example of Miss Kitty on Gunsmoke). He also says that she should no longer be Hope Valley's teacher. I happen to agree. Having taught in 3 separate one teacher Christian schools in small communities my actions outside of the classroom and who I spent time with were taken into consideration for continued employment. Reputations are fragile and long lasting. Even though I haven't taught in my own classroom in 15 years people in the community still know me as the teacher who taught in the church school.

My husband doesn't think everyone would be as corrupted as I have written. It is exaggerated in the dream. But in addition to foreseeing Elizabeth's removal as a teacher he can see the town's morals lowering with the incoming abundance of factory workers.

These are my views on morality. I'm not pushing them on you. You don't have to read or leave negative comments. I come from a conservative Christian background. What is wrong for me may be no big deal to you. I know others have different values and beliefs. We each have our own experiences that we bring to viewing, reading, and interpreting what is read or viewed. I'm not judging you for doing what for me would be wrong. Feel free to politely say, "I don't agree." But negative public reviews that go beyond being polite will be deleted. Read more below to discover where I'm coming from.

Author's note part 2: Devastated

I was devastated by the Season 8 finale. For so many reasons. Nathan's love was rejected so callously, and he was left without any comfort. I was devastated because he wasn't a part of the community with his daughter walking toward the school. He brought her to school countless times before. But when the community goes to the school to make a statement, he was absent. As if he isn't a part of the community now that Elizabeth has torn his heart into a million pieces. I was devastated that Nathan would encourage a gambler to stay in town to be with Elizabeth. Something he wouldn't do to anyone in his town, let alone the woman he loves. It left the impression that he loathes Elizabeth.

That wasn't the crux of the matter. I was devastated because she chose Lucas. Someone I didn't think was a viable choice from the first time I met him. I was devastated because they made Elizabeth callous and unlikable, and they made me dislike Lucas more than ever. WCTH had been a show that upheld certain morals in some areas, but they left those behind with season 8 episode 12. They had characters lying, acting out of character, and making decisions while stating that they felt lost. They had some apologies, but not heartfelt or for what really should have been apologized for. And even though I'm not a big Jack fan, they demeaned Jack and Elizabeth's love and time together, relegating it to a season and having Elizabeth look for Jack in Nathan.

They left my girls and I crying, and my husband flabbergasted on Mother's Day. My husband never thought that Lucas loved Elizabeth, rather, he is just after Elizabeth for the challenge.

For me, it's like it was a battle between good and evil, and evil won.

Author's note part 3: Where I'm Coming From, My Experience

My When Calls the Heart experience is different from many. I first read the books in the mid 1980s. I fell in love with Janette Oke's books. I dreamed of meeting her in a restaurant in central Alberta when she went out for Sunday Brunch. I never did get that dream fulfilled, mostly because I think I went out for Sunday brunch in Central Alberta once in my life! It's been more unlikely these many years since I left Alberta.

Elizabeth Thatcher was a favourite. I wanted to grow up to be a teacher like Anne Shirley, Laura Ingalls, Missie Davis, Christy Huddleson, Elizabeth Thatcher, and others I'd read about. I did, too. But there was that extra connection with the book When Calls the Heart because of it being in Alberta and living in some of the places mentioned. Sometimes when I heard the train whistle I imagined Elizabeth arriving on the train in that town. If we ever get back to visit my mom I want my girls to have that experience.

My husband kept telling me that I'd like this TV series his mom and sister watched on Netflix. I resisted because as a rule, I don't like movies or shows made from my favourite books. They are usually disappointing, nothing like the books. For instance, I don't like Little House on the Prairie because it is too different from the books. I thought WCTH would be the same.

I didn't grow up with TV. And when I did/do watch I have addictive tendencies. Before starting to watch WCTH I hadn't been watching TV other than a few movies for more than 10 years. I was reading. Reading is my hobby and my first love. Thus, my love for When Calls the Heart Fanfiction.

I learned the show was nothing like the books, not even the same characters. I watched interviews, and behind the scenes clips on YouTube. Finally, I borrowed the pilot movie from the library. I was starting to become convinced that I could watch the show.

Meanwhile, the season 6 hiatus happened, and my husband is telling me about that. Finally, it's back, and I find season 6 episode 6 to watch somewhere out there on the web. And that's my first introduction to Hope Valley, Elizabeth, and everyone else.

I knew Elizabeth had lost her husband. As I watch, I see the Mountie with the group talking on one side of the gate that Kurt Lawson has closed. Nathan says nothing. Not a great introduction but it wasn't long before Nathan intrigued me while talking with Elizabeth about Allie making friends and then he won my heart in the subsequent episodes. He has become my favourite fictional character.

Finally, I'm introduced to Lucas. He comes into the mercantile and talks to Elizabeth about positive thinking. "As a gambler, I live and die on that." I knew immediately that this guy liked Elizabeth, but he's a gambler so they wouldn't have a relationship, it is When Calls the Heart, after all.

Let's take note here that Lucas is a gambler. He doesn't just gamble like the rest of the men in Hope Valley. He is a gambler who lives and dies on positive thinking. It's part of his driving force. It's what makes him tick. "As a gambler…" He bragged about being a gambler. Instant dislike on my part. Since then, I have pitied Lucas when Elizabeth obviously loves Nathan while he's watching them in season 8. But I have never liked him on the show, though I have in some fanfiction.

To me, the gambling is a big issue because of my conservative upbringing. The majority of people that I know and spend time with don't even buy lottery tickets or raffle tickets. We don't own playing cards. In fact, my grandmothers would have been horrified if they knew that I occasionally play solitaire games on my computer. I didn't know when I started watching that gambling was a big part of WCTH. Had I known, I probably wouldn't have continued watching.

Gamblers that have been in Hope Valley: Mr. Montgomery, Charles Spurlock, Billy Hamilton, Archie Grant, Lucas Bouchard. They were called gamblers. Lucas says he's a gambler with pride in his voice. First impressions of Lucas have stuck with me.

I'm not sure how many episodes I was able to watch of season 6. I do know that I watched episode 9 and saw Elizabeth dance with the gambler who erroneously calls himself a hero instead of the true hero who wants no accolades. I couldn't believe that she hadn't chosen to dance with Nathan. But after seeing that look between them, I was sure she would choose Nathan in season 7.

They tried to tell me. But I wouldn't believe them. Elizabeth said it, Rosemary said it, cast and show promoters said it. I wouldn't believe them. Elizabeth did not have two good men to choose between. Gambling is not something a moral 1918 teacher would get herself involved in. Especially when a young child is involved and the show itself highlights the evil effect that gambling has on families. In season 1 it was the Montgomerys that suffered. In season 7 we learned of the struggles Nathan and the rest of his family had with Archie. And it continued to cause problems with Nathan wanting to protect Allie from what he experienced.

If they wanted us to think that Lucas was a viable choice, they should not have had Lucas call himself a gambler and then show the damage that having a gambling father results in. Wasn't that whole storyline with Archie to show us how wrong Lucas was for Elizabeth? How wrong it would be to allow him in her life? I know he hasn't been shown to gamble much in seasons 7 and 8. But he says he likes to make things happen. Isn't that just as bad when it comes to love? Isn't it gambling with love?

I don't recall when I saw the season 7 Christmas movie. But I was ready to watch all of season 7 after following actors on social media and seeing all of their behind the scenes posts. I missed a lot of episodes until I finally got a subscription and was able to binge everything two weeks before the finale. I started from the beginning and watched the whole series in those two weeks. Then I watched the finale, live. A first for me to intentionally watch a show live in 12 years. After that I allowed my girls to watch. The only scripted show they watched until I also allowed When Hope Calls.

When I watched seasons 1-5 it was good. But I was expecting better, especially after all those Jack and Elizabeth behind the scenes clips, I had seen. They didn't meet my expectations. I see Nathan being so much better for her. I see their love as more mature, deeper, and more meaningful. They have a deeper connection. I was looking forward to seeing them come together after she chose him with the hug at the end of season 7.

Author's note part 4: Season 8 Opinions

Instead, in season 8 we were given fear, indecision, and bickering between established couples. Careers were focused on rather than families. We now have a hero who overcame so many things. We have a former heroine who cast aside all that she fought for and gained by coming to Hope Valley. She cast it aside to hurt those we know she use to love, to be with a man who makes things happen and manipulates her to get what he wants. Gone are the heartwarming stories of previous seasons.

There was only one time I saw Elizabeth truly happy while with Lucas in season 8. That was while she was riding horses with him in episode 5. To me, it showed what great friends they could be. Their incompatibility was highlighted in their conversation about Allie and Nathan, and Lucas getting out of supporting her for a school event. That was also when Lucas's gambling came to light again in season 8. He wanted to make a wager.

There was only one time that I saw any potential for them as a couple in their flirty banter. It was when they were off to the side during Nathan and Carson's talk about not giving up. And we knew what a much deeper, more meaningful relationship she could have with Nathan. Most of the time I was cringing through the Lucas and Elizabeth interactions. He became seedy looking to me with his fuller beard and his beady looking eyes. I felt like yelling at the screen telling her to open her eyes to the truth. Lucas is bad. Nathan is good. Nathan has character development that shows his growth when he does or believes something wrong. Lucas's flaws were just pushed aside and never discussed. They were accepted by her. How many red flags did this supposedly intelligent woman need?

What do Lucas and Elizabeth have in common? They have experienced the finer things of life. But Elizabeth has chosen the simpler things by choosing Hope Valley. They both love literature. But the only literature they connect over is Children's Literature and her book. She didn't know the books he mentioned. And he didn't even have the courtesy to read more than a chapter of Virginia Woolf.

Then there is Allie. Since when does the teacher we came to admire treat a student like that? When Allie invited her to dinner with her and her uncle she needed to immediately come up with a counter invitation. An invitation to spend time alone with Allie. To show her that she does care for her and love her even if she wasn't going to accept the dinner invitation. I can tell you that I do not admire the season 8 Elizabeth. She was almost to the point of redemption at the end. I was hopeful for her. But then she went and made things 10 times worse in episode 12 starting with the selfish apology. With that monologue, "I need my friend now more than ever," as she goes towards Rosemary's house it completely cheapened the apology. The Elizabeth I love is there in season 7. As much in love with Nathan as he is with her. As my girls say, the season 8 Elizabeth is dead.

To me the reason, season, lifetime goes or should go like this.

Jack was in her life for a reason. He taught her about love and through their union Little Jack was created.

He spent a season with her. Too short of a season.

Jack is her lifetime. Her heart will always hold a place for him.

Lucas came into her life for a reason. To reignite the desire to write again, and to help get it to a publisher.

They dated for the literal summer season. Where she learned that you can't force love. You need to defend and fight for the love you already have. The love she has for Nathan.

Lucas is her lifetime friend. Her heart will always hold a fondness for him. Just like it does for Charles.

Nathan came into her life to protect her and show her a love beyond any she has experienced before. That is his reason in her life.

She shut him out for a season.

Now he is her lifetime friend, partner, and love. At least in fanfiction.

Elizabeth has lost some of the strength and independence that she gained by coming to Hope Valley. Nathan has that strength. She needs it desperately; she is weak without it. He's willing to share it with her. All she needs to do is stand beside him through life.

Here's our list of the most compatible men with 1910 Elizabeth Thatcher from characters we believe she goes with best to worst.

Nathan Grant

Jack Thornton

Michael Hickham/Shane Cantrall

Carson Shepherd

Charles Kensington

Lucas Bouchard

Billy Hamilton

Author's note part 5: Going Forward, Fanfiction

Even though evil won over good in season 8, I'm glad that I was introduced to Nathan Grant and the wonderful Team Nathan community. To me, Elizabeth is his person. The one he belongs with. I can find that and read that in fanfiction. If the story is Nathan with a new love interest, I just read her name as Elizabeth and the one who was so awful in season 8 is Eliza Thorn or a completely different name. I've read enough alternate universe pairings in other fandoms that I know that anything goes. Elizabeth doesn't have to be a teacher. Nathan can be the teacher. Elizabeth can be a nurse, doctor, settler, dentist, journalist, attorney, librarian, dress shop owner, and the list goes on. She doesn't have to have a son and Nathan doesn't have to have Allie. The story can start at any episode and change back story and events that happened in the show. Or they can start before the time period of the show or any time afterward. It's the beauty of fanfiction.

I am treating season 8 and the upcoming season 9 as poor Team Lucas Fiction. No need for me to watch.

Now for A Dream of Hopeless Valley. I've seen several people talk about the loss of morals in Hope Valley lately, and with my husband always talking about Elizabeth being the bar girl or saloon girl with all that implies, this story was born. At first, it was just Hopeless Valley. But I couldn't handle it. I needed some happiness for our beloved characters. So I made it into a dream. What is posted below is the Dream of Hopeless Valley. What is posted as chapter two is a short happy summary of what life is like in Hope Valley 3 years or so after season 7.

Again, Warning! The dream goes against my morals and the previous morals of WCTH. Sex outside of marriage is implied. There is gambling and all sorts of "Deadly Sins". To me, it's an exaggeration of where WCTH is heading with the way they ended season 8, especially the heroine.

A Dream of Hopeless Valley

Hope Valley had been a wonderful town where people helped each other and were kind and loving. They would help each other through tough situations and band together to build a church, paint a home, or fulfill any need.

Things changed, though. The people changed. It started with the influence of one Lucas Bouchard. A gambler at heart. When he first came to town he pushed the norm and had later hours at his Queen of Hearts Saloon. He loved literature and wanted to play out his favourite book, Dangerous Liaisons. He became fascinated with the widowed teacher, Elizabeth Thornton. He chose her and gambled with her heart. He would win her. She was the largest prize! It became more enticing when he realized the local Mountie, Nathan Grant, was also interested in her.

It took him 3 years, but he did finally win her. But there was more. He wanted her to have high morals and totally go against them.

[Insert Season 8]

After Elizabeth's first season of dating Lucas in the summer of 1918 it wasn't long before they discovered that in order for them to spend time together, she had to spend evenings at the Queen of Hearts. She happily left her almost 3-year-old son with the Coulters each night.

Elizabeth Thornton's rejection of the selfless Mountie changed him, too. He lost all desire to continue being the moral, selfless, upstanding Mountie that he was. Instead, he took up spending time at the Queen of Hearts. And for the first time in his life, he did something he swore he would never do. He started drinking and gambling.

Elizabeth found that she enjoyed spending time at the Queen of Hearts and drank heavily too. That first year of spending time at the Queen of Hearts with Lucas was her last one as a teacher. She found that she couldn't stay awake to teach her students. She often had a hangover. Pastor Joseph Canfield had taken his children out of school because of her poor influence and moved his family to the town of Brookfield. A two-hour car ride away.

Rosemary and Elizabeth were no longer close. In fact, Rosemary and Lee decided to move to Brookfield as well. They helped Lillian at the orphanage. Lee eventually became the town mayor and Rosemary started a monthly newspaper in addition to their responsibilities at the orphanage. They would visit Hope Valley once a month for 3 days. Lee would make sure everything was going well with Kurt Lawson and his management of Coulter Enterprises. Rosemary would bring Little Jack to visit his mother.

Yes, in 1919 when he was 3, Little Jack spent the summer with his grandparents in Hamilton. When his Aunt Julie brought him back, Elizabeth didn't know what to do with him. She slept all morning, then the rest of the time she was entertaining at the Queen of Hearts, whether it was serving the customers their food, or providing services in the back room where the gambling occurred, or entertaining someone in a room upstairs. She ended up begging Rosemary to keep Jack with her and Lee in Brookfield. Of course, they were more than happy to do so. Jack grew up in a loving home with lots of children to play with. Every so often he would get a new brother or sister.

The summer of 1919 was the start of her sharing her favours. Everyone knew that she hadn't been staying at her row house since Jack's third birthday. That last winter and spring her son was in Hope Valley her Nanny would watch her son at the row house during the day. She had been spending an hour with him in the afternoon before Rosemary got home. Then she would leave him with Lee and Rosemary until they took him home in the morning when the Nanny arrived again. Everyone knew she spent the nights with Lucas in his room at the saloon. Things changed after the school year ended. Now that she was no longer teaching, and Little Jack was visiting his grandparents for the summer, she became freer with the gentlemen customers.

Lucas Bouchard had actually tired of Elizabeth. He had won the prize, he had corrupted her morals. He was satisfied with that win but was bored again.

He thought it might be time to move on. He started gambling more and looking for another town to invest in. He was surprised that his winning Elizabeth and corrupting her had also corrupted the local Mountie. Nathan became a gambling buddy for a while. The problem was that Nathan always won. Always.

Nathan thought if women liked the rich men dressed in suits, he would become like that, too. He had women vying for his attention all day long. On the street they would stop him and touch his arm. Every time the stagecoach dropped off women, they would flock to him. Florence's niece asked if he would go with her to find a hat she lost in the woods. Michael Hickham's sister wanted him to go on a horse ride with her. In the Queen of Hearts he never ate alone. A lady would always ask if she could join him so they wouldn't have to eat alone.

Nathan didn't neglect his daughter. They had worked out a schedule. He spent the day with her on Saturday. Friday and Saturday nights she went on sleepovers. Those were his late nights at the Queen of Hearts. Sundays he spent all day and night with her. He also spent Tuesday and Thursday evenings with her. Mondays and Wednesdays she was on her own. Though Ellen Weise or Mary Wolf would always have her over for supper. He was usually home by 10 or 11.

It was just as surprising to Nathan as to everyone else that he was so good with cards. Much better than the other men in town. Soon, the only people who would play with him were Lucas and visitors from out of town. It was a matter of pride with Lucas. He had won the prize that was Elizabeth and won Nathan over to gambling. But Nathan kept winning. Until he was the richest man in town.

Elizabeth made that discovery one Friday night when there were no other gentlemen to entertain. She went to the owner's suite where her belongings were. There was a cot she had been sleeping on when her visits with guests didn't last all night. But this night she was feeling unfulfilled and amorous. She thought she would entice Lucas into a romp. Well, that was the best she had ever had, and she said so. When he turned on the lamp beside the bed, she discovered she had just been with Nathan. His reply was that unfortunately, you turned down the opportunity to have daily exclusive access to such activity.

Turns out he had won the Queen of Hearts and Lucas' shares of Gowen Petroleum in that night's game of cards. Lucas planned on leaving for his parents' home in Montreal the next morning with only the clothes on his back. Nathan had slowly been winning all his fortune and profits from both businesses for months. As the new owner, Nathan worked out a deal with Elizabeth so that she could remain as a guest in the owner's suite and still enjoy her heart's true calling. Drinking and spending time with men. She even was able to enjoy private time with Nathan again on rare occasions.

Five years later the moral corruption was widespread in Hope(less) Valley. Nathan was still the richest man in the community. He spent his days at the King of Hearts. He called his managers to the saloon office so they could give their reports and discuss business for an hour every afternoon. Other than that he was at leisure to spend his time how he wanted. Visitors came to the town specifically for the games of chance and for the friendly ladies at the King of Hearts.

Nichols and Dimes had a room built off the back where a bed was often used after hair or grooming services were paid for. Dr. Carter often asked her male patients for assistance in her apartment above the infirmary after her patients' office visit or when they were healthy again after an ailment. It was a form of payment, she said.

There is moral corruption that is more acceptable socially than others. The Yosts were tight-fisted with their wealth. They were the third or fourth wealthiest in the community. There was no more donation of things for free. They collected every nickel and dime owed to them. They also shared information freely. They were the central gossips of the community. Nothing passed by them, either. They had prime sources with the mail, telegraph, and telephone services coming through the mercantile.

Molly Sullivan had become slothful and obese. A glutton. When Bill sold his part of Abigail's Café to Nathan, he also left Hope Valley for Brookfield. Molly had been sweet on Bill, and they had even shared some coffee and meals together. When he left it devasted her and within a year she could be seen waddling through town to the Soda Fountain and Ice Cream Shoppe for her daily ice cream and soda.

Katie Yost and Laura Campbell tried to teach and portray good morals to the school children. But they failed with many of the students. Allie, Anna, and Opal all dropped out of school and became teenage moms. Allie was the only one who married her baby's father. Robert was now the town Mountie. However, Allie's second child looked very much like Paul Blakely, to Florence's chagrin. Fortunately for Emily, Cat could see what was going on early in 1919 and they moved to be closer to her eldest son, Gabe.

Michael Hickham and Kevin Townsend spent every evening at the King of Hearts. They even spent time with Elizabeth and the other ladies. They, along with Nathan also frequented the little room off Nichols and Dimes after a haircut or shave. Bruce Weise, Kurt Lawson, and Richard Wolf were more likely to be the ones "helping" Faith with things in her apartment. Their wives cut their hair and wouldn't let them near the saloon unless a community event was happening there and those were few and far between these days. Whereas they could often pretend to be sick, and their clueless wives would send them to see Dr. Faith. They went with no complaint.

Jack had grown to be a big 8-year-old. He loved his mom and dad. A few times his mama had come to live in the Brookfield Hotel for a month or two. Each time she did that Mom and Dad Coulter got a new baby. Jack now had a brother named Nathan, another brother named Kevin, and a sister Michaela. But they called her Mikey. He didn't go with Mom to see Mama every month anymore. Instead, she came for their birthdays. They would see her four times a year unless she had one of the longer stays at the Brookfield Hotel. He was really happy with Mom and Dad Coulter and his brothers and baby sister. He thought he was a fortunate boy. His favourite day of the week was Sunday when he got to hear Angela Canfield play the piano at church.

Yes, Hope Valley had become Hopeless Valley and Brookfield had become a good place to be.