#((it really must be a pace/gracey thing-and i have plans to elaborate on that further))

[theheadlessgroom]

@beatingheart-bride

"No, I...I wanna try," she replied with a little nod, puffing out her chest in an attempt to look a bit braver as she crawled up into her seat beside her father, who leaned down and lowered his voice, saying, "If you ever wanna leave, if you ever get uncomfortable and want to take a breather, you just let me know and we'll go, okay?"

"Okay, Papa," she nodded appreciatively, smiling sweetly as he kissed the top of her curls, the pair linking pinkies beneath the table just as the Pace brothers came bouncing downstairs, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as they hopped into their seats, Colin cheering, "Good morning! Boy, these spirits here know how to throw a party!"

"Did you stay up with the revelers?" June asked, Callahan reaching for the pitcher of orange juice as he answered, "Oh, yeah; when in Rome, as they say! Col and I stayed up, we danced, we sang, we chatted with some of the other spooks here, knocked back a few drinks, we had a good time! Rowan's gonna love this place-the only woman on this Earth that can drink me under the table."

He said this with great adoration, smiling goofily from ear to ear at the mere mention of her, as Colin dropped his voice, whispering to the rest of the table with a little grin, "Her sister, my wife, Morwen? She can drink him under the table too. Faster, too."

As the brothers continued to bicker playfully over their wives' skill in holding their liquor, Wilhelm leaned over to his son and daughter-in-law, saying, "The talk went pretty well, I think. She's still nervous, sure, but...she knows she's loved. You love her, Junie and I love her, Lon loves her, Dorian and Elizabeth loves her...my brothers and Junie's folks, they're no different, and we told her so. She's a gem of a girl, and we told her so."

"Thank you, Pa," Randall smiled appreciatively, Wilhelm smiling back to the couple as he replied, "Don't mention it," just as the Burke's arrived for breakfast: While Josephine was looking as bright-eyed as the Pace brothers, very chipper and ready to seize the day, August looked rather tired, much less put-together than he did the day before.

"Good morning!" Josephine smiled as they took their seats, August immediately reaching for the coffeepot. Concerned, June asked, "Did you not sleep well, Father?"

"I'm used to the usual hustle and bustle of New Orleans, dearest," he yawned, filling his mug nearly to the brim, with only just enough room for cream and sugar. "The hustle and bustle of Gracey Manor? That I may need some time to adjust to."

The Pace brothers smiled bashfully at this, but otherwise said nothing as they all began to help themselves to breakfast-pancakes this morning, strawberry puffed being one of the varieties: Randall immediately helped himself to some, and was pleasantly surprised that August did the same.