Never Judge

"Are you sure?" Cedric asked Veronica.

"Why do I get the feeling that you don\'t trust me on this?" Veronica asked as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at Cedric.

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"You\'ve never seemed like the I\'m willing to adopt type." Cedric said with a shrug, making Veronica roll her eyes at Cedric.

"Miguel told you we\'ve been trying for years and you don\'t see me as the motherly type?" Veronica asked him in a loud voice.

Cedric laughed and shook his head. He wasn\'t shocked at all with Veronica\'s reaction to his comment, this was typical Veronica. She always got her way and hated being questioned.

"Veronica, we\'re in a hospital, or did you forget that, shhh." He scolded, as he pretended to look around to see if there were any patients or nurses they had disturbed. Of course there was no one else on the floor, it seemed there were barely any VIP patients at this time.

Veronica shook her head at Cedric, clearly annoyed at his behavior, but she was used to it. They had grown up together, and even after his return he was still the fun older brother none of the girls had.

"I said I didn\'t see you as the adopting type. I know you want a kid, Adri told me you and Miguel were attending some fertility tests. So why not wait, I don\'t want this child feeling unwanted." Cedric said with a shrug.

"Dominic will never be unwanted, not with us." Veronica said, shaking her head. "To be honest Cedric, I\'m not sure if Miguel and I can even have kids. We\'ve tried almost everything."

"Didn\'t the doctors say there is nothing wrong with either of you?" Cedric asked. "And won\'t the Abad and Chan families be against this? We know how those two families can get, no offense."

"At this point, I don\'t care about them." Veronica said with a shrug. "I already love Dominic, and you can\'t honestly be planning on adopting him. You and Adri already have Yoyo and another one on the way."

"I\'ll talk to Adrianna about it and then we can ask Dominic." Cedric said, shaking his head. It seemed Veronica was quite insistent on adopting the child. 

"Of course, I don\'t want to take him if he doesn\'t want to come." Veronica said with a nod. "But can I visit? Spend some time with him? Get to know him."

"Sure Veronica." Cedric said with a nod. "Maybe we could try leaving you and Yoyo with him some time, it would be nice to get him used to being around other children he didn\'t need to be afraid of."

"That would be great." Veronica said with a smile. She was looking forward to getting to know Dominic even better.

It was true that the doctors had told her and Miguel that there was nothing wrong with either of them. Theoretically they were both well enough to have children, but the doctors also did warn that because of their busy lifestyle they probably were too stressed to procreate, and this frustrated Veronica.

Miguel had tried everything to cheer her up, but the one thing they wanted as a couple was what Miguel couldn\'t just give her. So when her husband had told her about the child Cedric had brought in, she was eager to meet him.

Veronica fell in love with the child the moment she met Dominic. To her surprise he wasn\'t as withdrawn from her as Miguel said he was towards the nurses and doctors. Veronica could sense that despite his frail body he was a strong child.

"Hey, what are you two doing out here in the hall?" Eric asked as he arrived. He was heavily disguised wearing a wig and glasses, he even had make up on to change his features. It was only by his voice that Cedric was able to recognize the actor.

"Veronica and Miguel were thinking of adopting Dominic." Cedric explained.

"Oh, the kid I\'m about to meet might become my nephew. That\'s so cool!" Eric said as he proceeded to slowly take off his disguise and hand it to the assistant behind him.

Some of the newer nurses on the VIP floor stopped to watch as the poor looking man slowly transformed into their idol. Cedric watched as Veronica stifled a laugh as some of the older employees stopped the younger ones from walking over and asking for a photo.

Cedric simply shook his head and led them back into the room.

"Tell them I\'ll take photos with them later." Cedric heard Eric tell his assistant. "Gotta keep our employees happy." Eric added with a wink as he entered the room after Cedric and Veronica.

Cedric smiled as he saw Dominic actively speaking to Dave, who was standing next to him. The child was a far cry from the shy boy he was just last night. It seemed that something about fave peaked his interest.

"It seems you are more talkative today." Cedric teased as he walked over.

"I\'m feeling better si- I mean Cedric." Dominic said with a smile as he looked up at Cedric.

"According to the tests we ran on him today he is doing much better." Miguel said as he entered the room, followed by his nurses and the other members of his team. 

"Did my wife speak to you?" Miguel whispered to Cedric as he stood next to his friend.

"She did." Cedric said with a nod as he placed his hands in his pockets and watched Dominic interact with Veronica and Dave. 

"And?" Miguel asked.

"I said it\'s fine with me as long as Adrianna is alright with it and Dominic is willing." Cedric said with a shrug.

"We will give him the best life we can." Miguel told Cedric in a determined tone, making Cedric laugh.

"I don\'t doubt that Miguel." Cedric said, shaking his head.

"Hey Dominic." Cedric said as he walked over to the child\'s bedside. "Do you think you\'re ready to talk to us about what happened?"

Cedric watched as Miguel sent his nurses and doctors away, Dave also asked Abby the maid to step out.

"Yes, but can Miss Veronica and Dr. Miguel stay too?" Dominic asked in a shy tone.

Cedric looked up to see Veronica with a smug smile on her face. He couldn\'t help but laugh, it seemed the couple had already bonded with the child.

"Sure, do you mind if Dave stays too?" Cedric asked.

"He\'s alright, I like Dave." Dominic said more confidently this time.

"Great, now I want to introduce someone to you." Cedric said as he waved Eric over. 

Before Cedric could even introduce Eric to Dominic, the child gasped and was wide eyed in shock.

"Do you know him?" Cedric asked Dominic with a smile.

"Y- y- y- yes." Dominic stuttered. "He\'s my idol! I\'ve always wanted to be like Eric Chan when I grew up!" 

"Well today, you\'ll get to learn about another side of your idol, Eric is actually a doctor too." Cedric said calmly. 

"Hey kid." Eric said with a smile as he pulled a chair to the side of the bed. "I\'m a psychologist, and Cedric asked me to help take care of you, I hope that\'s fine?" Eric asked.

It seemed Dominic was at a loss for words as he was unable to speak.