A Face in the Crowd

16

****1 Month later****
Cynthia grabbed Alex from her daughter's arms while she tried to control her small baby girl, -'Well good thing y'all are going to a neurologist right?' Joe chuckled, holding Joanne's little hand, Gaga shook her head, -'This is the second neurologist we go to. I hope she has some answers for us, I'm getting worried about her', -'And Bradley?', -'He said he was gonna meet us there, Jerry had some recordings to show him and stuff. Theyre also talking with the security company guy',Gianluca approached his mother, -'...Will they give Joanne some medicine so she will quit touching my toys?' He said, rolling her eyes, Gaga chuckled, -'I think they will! Lighten up sweet boy', Gianluca smiled up at her and kissed her, -'I'll be back in a while, okay my love?', the boy nodded and hugged her, -'Awww, good hugs baby' she giggled, caressing Gi's hazel curls, -'Love you mom, -'I love you too baby boy. Tell grandpa to help you with homework and then you can swim okay', -'Okay mom'.
*****
-'Autism?' Bradley asked again. Completely taken aback. The wise looking neurologist nodded gently, -'Yes sir. The little girl is now three and from what your wife says, she has all the traits of-', Gaga raised a hand, -'B-But we were TOLD that she was alright!', -'Well, things can change. She's clearly presenting symptoms of it', -'But shes not SICK!', -'Miss Stefani, autism comes in different ways. You say she stacks things, she has problems learning and comunicating and such...these are all normal indicators of an autistic child', Gaga sighed deeply, -'What will this mean for her?! What will happen?!', the man stood up and laid a hamd on Gaga's shoulder, -'This wont mean anything too negative for her ma'am, i promise you that...she'll be integrated into a special learning program and we'll go from there. This doesnt mean she won't be able to interact with the world around her. On the contrary, this will help her inmensely', Gaga wiped her tears and sighed deeply, -'...And what will this mean for me?', -'You two and your inmediate family will have to learn some methods to know how to deal with her alright? And know how to nurture her properly', Bradley nodded -'Yes of course...Stef, it's gonna be alright', Gaga took a deep breath and tried to take everything in, -'It's just too much...I'm sorry, we're exhausted' she apologized to the doctor with a smile, -'We have this situation with tje police and we are dealing with that as well. And also with a little baby so this is all very stressful for us', the doctor nodded understandingly and looked down at Jo who was playing with her favorite stuffed animal, -'...What this means, for parents and the people around her, is that she cant communicate like other kids. But that doesnt mean she's like, mentally challenged or anything, her brain just...doesnt know how to deal with life around her, ok? Which is why she doesnt learn words as fast, why she repeats words...why she has trouble expressing her feelings ans why she playa differently. So what we will do is therapies to help her with that...this doesnt have a cure, but we have ways to help her'.
****night time****
Gaga was sobbing on Bradley's arms, -'Why do we have to deal with this now?' She sobbed, pressing her face against his chest, -'...It's for a reason Stef, I know it's gonna be hard but she'll come through...we'll make the world normal for her', Gaga sobbed even harder when she saw little Joanne walking into their room, this time she observed her every move.
Joanne got distracted by the TV and stayed a couple minutes just watching the screen. Bradley reached out and touched her small shoulder, the little girl turned and immediately clung to her father, almost completely ignoring her mother's presence, -'This is what the doctor said' Gaga whispered, -'She sees you as the center of her whole world', Bradley nodded and held the little girl in his arms tight, -'Cant sleep Jojo?', Joanne stared at him for a wjile and shook her head gently, -'Awww...we'll help you sleep, okay Joanne?', at this point Gaga couldnt help but just cry because she couldnt read the signs early. And even with all the crying, Joanne didnt bat an eye at her mother. Like she just wasnt there.

******
Months later
******
-'Did you dropped Joanne at the learning school?' Gaga asked her husband through the phone, -'Yes, of course! I'm on my way to the courtroom baby', -'Okay, I'll wait for you here'.

-'All we have to do is get up there in that little step and answer questions' Bradley said, looking out into the courtroom, Gaga nodded, -'I dont wanna see him though', -'Who?', Gaga rolled her eyes, -'The guy! I dont wanna see him and I know he's gonna be here!', -'Baby. I know its a scary situation but you have to get it together and answer the questions completely correctly okay?', Gaga looked down at her feet and nodded, -'Yes', -'Good girl. It'll fly by, I promise'.

Stefani and her husband stepped out of the courthouse after the witness interrogation was done and the session was closed, before leaving Gaga went into the ladies' restroom to touch up her make up while Bradley and Scott waited for her outside.
As Gaga made her way out, so did the man (Jon Wells) along with a cop and his team of attorneys. The wretched criminal saw this as an opportunity and quickly crept up behind Gaga and yanked her arm, trying to scare her, which worked. She screamed as loud as she could and jumped into Bradley's safe arms, -'DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME YOU DISGUSTING DEGENERATE HOG' she cried, while the man shrugged off the insults and was stuffed into a police car.