PROMISE

The Will

Bradley sat leaning against his motorcycle watching the sunrise. He was pulled from his thoughts when his phone rang. He contemplated picking it up or letting it ring. What was the point? "Hey-"

"Bradley?" Gaga leaned against the door frame watching the babies pull at the their feet, almost afraid to move forward. "Hey, I'm at the house."

The reality of the situation came crashing into him again. Bradley squeezed his eyes shut. "Stefani, I can't..." 

"I don't know what to do. Molly left, the hospital called on my drive in..." She tried to swallow her sob. "Social services is coming by, I guess for a wellness check. I have to make funeral arrangements and I have a lot of-"

"I'm sorry." He hung up. He hated himself for being so weak.

"Brad? Bradley!" She rubbed her temples willing the tears to stop. The babies started to fuss and Gaga simple reacted. She grabbed them and changed them one by one while they cried. "I know, baby, I know." She held them both on her hips as she carefully made her way down the stairs, taking two small breaks as the twins wiggled and cried in her arms. "How did your mommy do this?" She finally made it to the kitchen to feed them. Having texted Molly only a few times to figure out their eating schedule among many, many other things. She texted Bradley to no success. The morning flew bye as Gaga made calls and tried to sooth the never ending cries of the twins. Gaga was a disheveled mess when the doorbell rang. 

"Hi, Ms... Germanotta I assume?"

"Yes, come in." Gaga tried to look presentable as she rocked a crying Ava on her hip. 

"My name is Sharon and this is Scott. Here are our credentials and files regarding the recently deceased Lilly and Henry Hall." Gaga did her best to read the documents not understanding what they meant. The hospital gave her a brief idea of what would happen, but everything seemed like a blur. They all sat in the living room. Jackson played quietly in his walker, Ava only whimpering occasionally. "It says here that you are the emergency contacts for Mr. and Mrs. Hall, you and a Mr. Bradley Cooper. Is he here as well?"

"That's correct and no he is not." She watched them write on their documents. "He will be-" She recovered. "He will be, he's just out getting some things the babies need. Shopping... groceries..." She lied. 

"Typically, in these cases we require all proper documentation for the children, in order to release the children to temporary guardians before they are placed with their proper next of kin or guardians." 

"I am more than capable to take care of them in the mean time." Her phone rings, just as Jackson throws his bottle and Ava begins to cry. Sharon clicks her pen and begins to write. Gaga's phone stops ringing. She grabs Jackson's bottle, walking around to calm Ava. "So, did you need anything else?"

"Yes, just these documents from you and just the birth certificates from the children and a copy of the will in order to begin the paperwork to legally grant temporary custody. Then once the state mandated lawyers have finalized all the paperwork, the guardians appointed by Mr. And Mrs. Hall will have sole custody." Gaga reviewed the list of documents needed.

"OK, then. I will have these to you by tomorrow." 

"I'm afraid we'll need them now. The welfare of the children is our top priority, I hope you understand. Unless there is a next of kin-"

"There isn't. It's me. Just... give me a few minutes to located their brith certificates and will. I can provide you my work credentials and ID." She held her breath and lifted Jackson from his walker walking into Henry's and Lilly's office. She felt bad for doing so but she placed the little ones on the floor. While they crawled around, she searched the desk and came up short handed. She opened the laptop and could not guess the password. Her eyes filled with tears, slamming her hands down on the table attempting password after password.