Ghastly wasn't particularly surprised when the confusion on Tanith's face grew, while Valkyrie remained stubbornly glum, staring unseeing down at the teddy bear in her lap until Dad addressed her directly. She blinked up at him while he wrote out the tag, and then wordlessly wrapped the cord around the bear's neck without, it seemed, even a hint of curiosity.

'Eyes and hands ain't what they used to be.' The only good thing to be said about this was that Ghastly had gotten very, very good at keeping his face blank by now.

Even so, he also wasn't particularly surprised when the confusion on Tanith's face disappeared, and she almost instantly grew slack. Disbelief flickered through her eyes, and she stepped over to Ghastly while Valkyrie was busy with the teddy bear tag.

"Dad," she said quietly. "As in...?"

Ghastly nodded without looking at her. "As in Gabe's Dad."

He didn't see her expression, but he could imagine her stiffening. Imagine all the other possibilities running through her head before she'd allow herself to accept it, because what else was she supposed to do? It wasn't a hard conclusion to come to, especially given what had just happened a few hours ago. Accepting that conclusion was a different matter entirely. Ghastly could easily attest to that.

"A carnival," she said. Ghastly forced himself to look at her, but Tanith was staring down at the teddy bear in Valkyrie's lap. "You went and won a bunch of teddy bears at a carnival?"

"It was His idea."

Tanith had her hand clenched by her side, and it was turning white. "No offense, Ghastly, but how on Earth are you feeling any better?"

Ghastly gave a small shrug. "He has a sense of humour. Takes the edge off."