This AU is so pure and I need more happiness for these characters in my life.As for Smits (I assume that’s who you’re talking about??) I’ve actually never felt like he really got the bad end of the stick, even in canon. One interesting thing I’ve seen in the SC series is the theme of not only moving past a loved one’s death, but learning from it and even channeling their hopes and dreams to honor them. This theme is most apparent in Among the Enemy, but it’s also seen every time Luke thinks about Jen, every time her parents talk about her, every time her name is even mentioned post-death.The concept of honoring loved ones beyond death is one of my favorite themes in the Shadow Children series, and honestly, Smits learned a lot more from Lee’s death than he ever learned from his life. And I don’t think his life with Luke and the Garners is going to make him miss his life with his parents much, despite of course mourning their death.I love these AUs to bits and will cling onto them for the rest of my years, but I’ll always remember a boy named Luke who let a little kid named Smits pull him in a rusty old farm wagon just to help him feel happy again.