Never Judge

Nicole nodded without saying a word. She looked at Ian and he could see the pain and worry in her eyes. Even if Adrianna had only entered their lives recently Nicole cared about her a lot, she was like an older sister to all of the sisters. 

Cedric paced across the waiting room as Miguel and Nicole remained inside for over three hours. After a while the parents rushed in, Cedric knew better than to greet the rushing Chan parents who went straight to the operating room.

"Cedric!" Priscilla Reyes called out as she hugged her son.

"How is she?" Gracia Hernandez asked as she arrived with an extremely worried look. 

"Miguel is the best mom. You have nothing to worry about." Cedric said in an attempt to calm his parents and in-law's worries.

"It was lucky that we were with the Chans when we got the call. Lucy had just invited us over for dinner." Priscilla said as she continued to hug her son.

"We flew over as soon as we heard." Gracia explained.

"Mom." Cedric stretched out his hand and held his mother-in-law's hand and squeezed it tight. "She'll be fine. She's a fighter. Miguel is the best doctor around." 

"And Margaret?" Charles Hernandez asked, she was after all still his niece and he knew that it was completely out of character to do something like this. 

"I had her placed in a ward." Eric said as he arrived in the hospital with Alexi. "She's not stable." 

"What happened? Did you find out anything from her?" Cedric asked his friend.

"Let's sit. You've probably been pacing for the past three hours." Eric said as he motioned to the waiting area. Cedric nodded and sat as Eric told him. 

"It seems that Margaret has been suffering for a while now." Eric explained. "She's been having intense mood swings since they were thrown out of the Hernandez family and she was almost raped. The impact on her resulted in a trauma that has left her unstable. By the time Alexi and I arrived in Ayanna's villa she was calm and herself again. She was crying when she realized what she did. Apparently she brought the gun in a fit of depression, she was considering two things, either killing herself or harming Adrianna."

"I didn't know she was suffering so much." Charles said, full of regret. If he had only checked up a bit more on his brother and niece maybe they could have done something sooner.

"Not even her father knows what she was going through." Eric said in an attempt to make Charles Hernandez feel better. "When Margaret arrived at the airport her mood changed again. She said something about seeing her cousin and the sisters made her feel happier, like things were back to normal. She smiled and laughed and had fun, she forgot about the gun and spent the rest of the day happy. Sadly as night time arrived something seemed to have triggered her mood change. She became depressed again and slowly sunk into a hole until she didn't even know what she was doing." Eric explained to the family.

"Is there anything that can be done?" Cedric asked. He knew Adrianna cared very much for her cousin no matter what. Adrianna would probably blame herself for what happened since it was because of her conflict with the Hernandez family.

"As soon as she's stable I'll have her sent to one of Nicole's facilities. I can recommend someone to you, she was a classmate of mine. We were close while we were in university until we both got our phds. She's one of the best doctors out there." Eric assured Cedric. 

"Thank you Eric." Cedric said with a nod.

"It's not her fault Cedric. Don't blame her." Eric explained to the younger man. "She loves Adrianna, she doesn't want her to get hurt. She was so excited to meet your child that she already bought presents. Margaret was serious about fixing things with Adrianna. It's just the trauma and its effects are too much and it will take time for her to get better." 

"I know Eric. I don't blame her, I'm sure Adrianna doesn't either." Cedric said with a nod. "Do you need to get back to her?" Cedric asked, worried that he had kept Eric away from his patient for too long.

"No. I'll stay here with you guys." Eric said patting his friend on the back. "My family is doing everything to save her and your baby. Have faith." Eric said with a gentle smile.

After another hour Katerina arrived. She was in a meeting with a client when everything happened, she only found out when she took her client to the airport and noticed that there were more planes. 

At first she rushed to Ayanna's villa, where she saw Mia and the maids fixing the damages and the mess. Mia told her what happened and she had the driver take her straight to the hospital.

"She isn't out yet?" Katerina asked as she took a seat next to Ram. 

"No. My whole family is inside. Don't worry." Eric said as he looked gently into her eyes.

Katerina nodded and remained silent. She didn't know what to say, there was nothing she could say. Everyone was clearly worried.

After another thirty minutes Nicole came out again. She was looking more tired than when she first came out of the operating room.

"Cedric?" Nicole called out as she looked for him.

"I'm here." Cedric said standing up. "How are they?" Cedric asked as he walked over to Nicole. 

"Congratulations! It's a baby boy!" Nicole said with a sad smile.

"And Adrianna?" Cedric asked.

Nicole looked at him tentatively, she hesitated before finally speaking. "There were complications. When she fell earlier she hit her head and she now has a concussion. We took the baby out via cesarean section, but Adrianna, she's still unconscious." 

"Nicole you have to save her." Cedric said, almost in tears, his voice shaking.

"We will Cedric, we will. Miguel is the best. Miguel never fails. Remember that." Nicole told her friend.

"Nicole's right Cedric. Miguel is the best doctor in the world. He can perform miracles, remember." Veronica told him. She had faith that her husband would be able to save their friend.

Before Nicole could return to the operating room Lucy Ang - Chan and her husband Raphael Chan walked out as well.