Chapter 9 Moving On Up

Thank you so much for all of the kind words in your reviews! I love writing about Nathan, Allie and Elise, but more then that, this has been very therapuetic after the season 8 finale. As with any story, there will be an end, and while this isnt over yet, I know it is coming. Unlike how the WCTH writers wrote season 8, I know what our characters have to do and overcome to get to the desired ending. It is coming, that I promise. Until then, I hope you enjoy this chapter. The next one, which I will be working on today and hopefully posting within the next 24 hours, is one I have been working on for a while. Enjoy!


It was evident to the citizens of Hope Valley that Nathan, Allie and Elise were normally attached at the hip. If it was outside of school and work hours, "the trio" as they were starting to be referred to, were normally together. When Nathan had to go out of town on Mountie business, Allie now stayed with Elise instead of Opal's family. There was no official word of Nathan and Elise courting, or even heading in that direction, they were just always together. It was comfortable for all of them, and for that moment in their lives, it was enough. They ate dinner together at least two nights a week, either in the café or the privacy of one of their homes. They rode together, fished, worked on their homes together. Nathan had been seen chopping wood for Elise, and she could be found next to him, with a pair of pants on and a big pair of gloves, stacking it. They did not argue, but he told her that was man's work. Her response was, "Oh well", and would just keep doing it. People who knew him the best all agreed they had never seen Nathan this happy, and they all agreed, he deserved happiness more than anyone else in Hope Valley.


Before they knew it, the end of the school year was upon them, and Allie was looking forward to her summer break. It was the day of the End of Year Move Up and Graduation ceremony. With the new school opening in the fall, Allie knew she would be moving out of the Jack Thornton School and moving to the new school. Mrs. Thornton would no longer be her teacher, as she was staying in the small schoolhouse with the younger students, and the new teacher would be over the advanced students. It was bittersweet for Allie, but she was ready to move on with her friends. Even though she was a year younger, Opal was moving with her because of how the grades were being split up. Over the summer she was going to be working the switchboard in the mornings, and in the afternoon, be the receptionist in Elise's office. Elise and Nathan set up a desk for her with her own phone and be the keeper of Elise's schedule. She was very excited to see what Elise did daily, and how it worked with the businesses and citizens of Hope Valley. But before that was the annual Uncle Nathan and Allie fishing trip, and Allie could not wait to get away. They were going for a week this year, and Elise was not going with them. They all agreed that would be inappropriate, and that Nathan and Allie needed to spend time alone.

Nathan and Elise found seats at the Moving Up ceremony and looked around at the other attendees. They waved at Lee and Rosemary, who was holding Little Jack, as the Canfields sat down next to them, and many of their other friends and neighbors. Nathan put his arm along the back of Elise's seat, and looked down at her as she spoke to Minnie Canfield. He had been through the moving up ceremony before, but this was a first for Elise, and Nathan thought she was more excited than Allie was. Other than Elizabeth, Elise was the highest educated person in Hope Valley, so she knew how important a good education was. She had seen firsthand that as much as she didn't care for Elizabeth Thornton as a person, she was an excellent educator.

The students filed out of the schoolhouse in single file and took their seats in the chairs that had been set up for them. Elizabeth stood and spoke of the joys over the year and mentioned a couple of harrowing moments while in the classroom. The audience smiled and laughed at her descriptions of their children. She then got to the end of the year awards. There were awards for every subject, along with new testing protocols put in place now that the Jack Thornton School was being absorbed into the county board.

"This year, we had one student who exceled in both English and Math. This one student also scored number one on the new standardized tests required by the county and providence of Alberta. Not only that, but this student also scored number 2 in the county, and within the top 10 in the providence. Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly award these certificates of accomplishment to Miss Allie Grant."

Allie's mouth dropped as she stood to walk to the podium to shake Mrs. Thornton's hand and receive her certificates. Nathan was beaming with pride and Elise was bursting with excitement. She knew she had not been her that long and that Allie earned these on her own merit, but she was so proud of the young girl. The audience applauded, and Allie beamed while her photo was snapped while holding her five certificates.

After the ceremony was over, Allie ran over to Nathan and Elise to show them her awards. She had tears in the corners of her eyes and her smile was as big as Texas. Elise hugged her and told her she was so proud of her. Nathan enveloped her into his long arms next and hugged the girl-child that had a huge hold on his heart.

Elizabeth walked up to the trio, obviously happy with their large smiles, and for a moment she felt like she was invading a precious moment. "Congratulations Allie. It was so hard to not tell you. I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you. You have exceeded all expectations I had for you, and I will miss having you in my class next year".

"Thank you Mrs. Thornton."

Nathan felt Allie tense up just a bit, and used the opportunity to get Allie out of the situation. "I think this calls for chocolate cake. Why don't we stop by the café and pick one up?"

And Elise followed with "And maybe some ice cream".

"Yes please!" Nathan and Elise laughed, and Elizabeth just stood there, taking in the three of them in.

Nathan tipped his head at her, and politely said "Good day, Mrs. Thornton." The three of them turned, and headed into town, Allie between Nathan and Elise, leaving Elizabeth standing there alone.


The following morning, Nathan and Allie packed up Newton and Storm for their trip up into the mountains. Elise insisted that they take Storm. She trusted them with her, but more importantly, she knew Storm would be gentle and protect Allie.

"Don't you need Storm this week? I don't need to take her," Allie said.

"I do not have any appointments out of town this week, so I will be fine. Besides, she needs the adventure too. You all will have an amazing time. I am so jealous, one of these days I will get to go up there."

"You are sure you're going to be ok by yourself? We don't have to go for the whole week", Nathan told her. He was standing less than two feet from her, and all he wanted to do was put his arms around her, hold on tight and never let go. But they were not there yet. They had never discussed what was next for them, they were just enjoying each other day to day. He was going to be lonely without her, but he needed the time with Allie. They had things to discuss. Important things.

"I will be fine. I'll keep the cafe in business while you're gone. Bill will keep me company. And I'll try not to spend that much at the dress shop." Nathan laughed at the though. He discovered she was a regular customer at the dress shop, and he had even said she could take Allie there when they came back. With her being Elise's receptionist, she needed to look the part.

Nathan reached out his hand and pushed an invisible piece of hair back off her face. "Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone."

She touched his arm while his hand lingered near her face. "I'll try not to."

Nathan dropped his hand and turned to reluctantly mount Newton. Elise turned and hugged Allie, then went to whisper to Storm while Allie settled herself into the saddle. "Please protect her my old friend". She turned to look at Nathan and said, "I'll see you at the end of the week". Nathan tipped his invisible Stetson, and he turned Newton, and he an Allie were off. Elise just stood there, her heart going down the lane with them.

Instead of wandering around her house alone, Elise made the decision to head to her office and get some work done. She had a couple of contracts to revise for Lee, and she wanted to refresh on labor laws. With the new factory set to open within the next couple of weeks, she wanted to make sure she was prepared in the event there was an issue.

When she finally looked up from her journals and case laws, she realized it was getting dark. She took her reading glasses off and pushed herself back from her desk. Deciding to call it a night, she turned out the lights, walked out the door and locked it.

She headed down the near empty street towards the cafe, hoping she could still get something for dinner. As she passed the saloon, she realized it was closed, but there was light coming through the windows. Seeing it closed was odd. She was not a fan of Mr. Bouchard. She was not one to rock the boat, but Bouchard was definitely walking a very fine line with the law. Liquor was illegal in the country, but she figured that because Hope Valley was so small that most people overlooked the ban. She knew that would be an issue someday also, and she wanted to be ready for it.

The café was still open, so Bill packaged up the days special for Elise, then she headed home, once again taking in the saloon being closed. She thought she heard Debussy playing in the distance but couldn't be sure.

As she approached the rowhouses, she noticed that the Thornton house was dark. She must be at the saloon. The saloon was still a place that Elise did not enter. She still had not spoken more then a few words to Mr. Bouchard and had no desire to do so unless it was business related. Her senses always went up when he was around, and not in a good way. Elise tended to trust her gut, and her gut churned at the subject of Lucas Bouchard.

As she made her way through her house, she grabbed her matches and shawl from the hook by the back door and went out to her café table and chairs. She lit her backyard candles, wrapped herself up in her gift from Nathan, and sat down to eat her dinner, facing the mountains that the two people she cared about the most were in without her.


Elise walked into town the following morning, ready to get on with her day. As she passed the Coulters office, Rosemary yelled out to her, and came running out onto the boardwalk.

"Have you heard the news yet?"

"No, what news?", immediately worried it was about Nathan and Allie.

"Lucas proposed to Elizabeth last night. And she has excepted".