Chapter Six: In Judd We Trust
*Warning mentions of suicide and self harm*

The issue with Luna and Judd's relationship was she was a happy little woodland pixie who tossed pixie dust at people every chance she got and Judd was Angry Smurf with a hint of papa smurf. Not to mention he was very overprotective of her and she found it quite adorable and also annoying.

The literal minute that the storm let up Luna was texted and called a million times to make sure she was heading back to Austin and to make sure there were no pitstops on the way. Sure her car was a hybrid and yes she may need gas but that wasnt going to sit well with Judd, Marjan or Paul, Mateo, or the entire firehouse of the 126.

Let's be real here there was no fucking chance, she was staying there any longer with Eddie. Not to mention she felt amazing. She didn't know what all Eddie gave her but she was slightly thankful though that he did what he did for her, given the state she was in and how she treated him the last time they met.

And, as soon as she touched the dirt, she was greeted with a big ass group hug and threats from Judd for her to never leave again. While she adored her small trip to L.A. She truthfully didn't know if she wanted to go back to that place ever again, but she did know she was grateful to be back. TK was doing better and for now, he wants awake but he was doing better.  Judd was in charge until Owen came back. They were at a baby shower when the grill caught fire having also caught the brother-in-law on fire who was manning the grill at the time.

"Hey, y'all, that's good. That's enough!" Judd yells as He grabs his radio. "Hey, Stollman, kill the pressure on the hose, will you?" before turning to the team. " All right. Hey, great work, everybody. Let's pack it up and go."

"Whew. Man, who knew gender-reveal dust could go out like that?"

"Yeah, well, you take any starch-based powder and put it near an open flame, watch what happens," Judd mutters as Luna shakes her head.

"You ask me, the whole idea of a gender reveal party is pretty messed up, people filming themselves rooting for a girl or a boy, it's unseemly."

"Yeah, not to mention, you don't get the gender from the ultrasound. You get it from the kid." Paul says as Luna smiles at him.

"Sing it, brother." Judd pats him on the shoulder. "126, we're on the move. Let's go." they turn to leave.

"Ohh!" The 126 turns to see the Mother in distress she was grabbing at her belly.

"Breathe, breathe, breathe."

"Ma'am, are you okay?" Marjan asks.

"-She's coming!" Molly the mother keeps shouting.

"Sir, how many months is she?"

"Uh, seven months. Uh, it's too early."  The father replies panicked

"Probably induced by the stress. Ma'am, we're gonna get you to a hospital right away-"

"No time." Molly shakes her head.

"But you just went into labor."

" I've had three of these, kid. Trust me, she's coming now." She explains.

" Judd."

"What?

"Since Cap's gone, you're in charge." Paul reminds him.

"Oh, right. Uh... oh, right. All right, so go inside, get... get sheets, towels, anything that's clean. Yeah. Get on the radio, and tell them that we need an RA unit ASAP. Hey, then grab that med kit off the truck, and come back with it. You can help Luna with anything she needs."

"-Me?" Luna mutters in disbelief.

" Yeah, you're certified, ain't you?" She curses hating the fact that Judd knew that. It had been a while since she delivered a baby. Not to mention she hadn't revealed her trauma. The literal fact that she had pushed her baby out only for it to be dead, still haunted her, and this week on the fifth day would be the anniversary of their death, and it pained her to feel that moment. She had a whole new life and a whole new job so maybe this time would be different. Maybe shouldn't bury herself in her sheets and hide from the entire world. But she was still letting her mania run free so anything was possible at this point. With that being said she helped Molly deliver the baby who turned out to be a boy.

//

Luna's shift was finally owner. She was rounding the corner when she hears the butt end of Marjan and Paul's convo.

"You see how good he listens to Auntie. That's 'cause you love Auntie the most."

"Okay, it's because you have the doggy treats. Wait till TK gets back. We'll see how much love you get then." Paul says as Luna shakes her head at the two arguing over the dog.

"When is TK coming back?"

"He needs to heal," Marjan says as Mateo nods.

"So, like, a couple of weeks?"

"No, sooner than that. He was shot."

"So was Luna? But she was back after a week or two." Mateo explains the group chuckles.

"A, I have been shot before, so my body was used to it, and B mine was through and through."

"Yeah, I heard that a firefighter in Los Angeles had a piece of rebar go through his brain, and then he was back at work within a month."

Luna nods. "That's impossible." Marjan scoffs.

"Well, my buddy swears it's true."

Luna points a finger in the air. " I was there on the scene when it happened. Was my first few months as a Sergeant. He was even talking the entire time, he's a cool guy, you guys should meet him."

"California, man," Paul says shaking his head in disbelief

"When's Cap coming back?"Mateo nods to Judd.

"Soon, I hope."

"What, you don't like filling in for him?" Luna asks as Judd laughs.

"I mean, I like the little bump in pay, but y'all can keep the rest of it." He sasses pulling his phone out of his pocket and going somewhere private to take his call. 

After a while, he stands next to Luna who was waiting by his truck.

"So are we having dinner at your place? I am starving and you promised me a meal." Judd sighs it had slipped his mind that he did indeed invite the woman over for dinner. Ever since she and the Eddie situation, he wanted to do something nice for her, Luna was like his little sister and while he adored her he also found her completely and utterly annoying.

She had been lonely since the whole visiting her ex thing and Perry was mad at her for it so they weren't talking, but he was also away for work.

"Yeah Yeah, just let me make a quick stop."

Luna just shrugs hopping into his truck they make it to a house that's like an hour away and pile out.

"Oh, a quick stop." Luna sasses as they pile out of the truck.

Judd rolls his eyes as they open the door with a key. "Hey, Daddy, where are you?"

"Lord in Heaven. You drive out here?" a voice responds the house was dark as they enter a bit. Judd had Luna behind him protectively. As they stepped further into the house, following the sound of the tv. He flips a switch illuminating the hallway.

"Oh, for Pete's sake." they approach the living room seeing an older man laying on the floor in his socks, a white T-shirt, and plaid light blue boxers. "Why didn't you tell me you needed help?"

"Because I don't need any help." He sasses as Judd and Luna kneel grabbing an arm each and helping him off the floor.

"Yeah. How long have you been laying here in the dark?"

"Well... since the sun went down" The older man replies as Luna refrains from chuckling.

"Oh, so you've been laying in here all day?"

"No, just from the middle of the afternoon, and now I've got to go relieve myself. Thank you very much." Luna chuckles at that part and Judd sends her his signature grumpy stare.

"So you were just holding it all day?"

"You can sniff the rug if you need to." Luna laughs again as The older gentleman nods and smirks at her amusement.

"Yeah, yeah. I'ma pass." Judd mutters as the older man who Luna figures was Judd's dad laughs and close the door.

"So how'd that happen?"

"How did it happen? I-I just got out of the shower, and I tripped over that damn rug while I was looking for my britches." the toilet flushes. "Oh, here they are," he says as Luna laughs making an oop sounds with her mouth. 

"So how come you didn't call Mr. Rick or Delores?"

"What, and have them come over here and catch me in my skivvies?" Judd's dad leaves the bathroom with his britches in his hand this time.

"Well, you should have called me."

"Oh, you were at work. It wasn't an emergency anyway. Besides that, I was just fixing to get up when you walked in here." He explains as Luna laughs again.

"Yeah, you looked like you were just fixing to. You hungry?"

"Oh, I-I could eat." He plops down in his recliner pulling his pants on.

"Yeah. Why don't you let me fix something? You got anything in there?"

"There's some chorizo in the icebox, and, uh, I think there are some eggs in there, too. I didn't realize Grace was so young." he squints staring at Luna, who laughs. "I thought she was gonna cook."

"That's not Grace, this here is Jitterbug aka Luna, she arrived at the firehouse a few months back. She's a stray and unfortunately, I made the mistake of feeding her now she won't leave me the hell alone." Luna hits Judd on the arm. While his dad laughs.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ryder." She extends her hand out to shake.

"Please call me daddy or Stuart. Mr. Ryder makes me feel old as hell," he says as Luna laughs. "I was looking forward to Grace's cooking."

"Well, I have to give her call now 'cause she... she..." Judd stops in his tracks at the sight of the kitchen with dirty dishes everywhere. "She was making a chili... Hey, let... let me get rid of that old rug, will ya?"

"Oh, no, your mama loved this rug. It ain't gonna go anywhere." Judd sighs as Luna stares at a few photos on the counter. She smiled at all the kids immediately recognizing Judd as a kid.

"You were the cutest kid Juddy," Luna murmurs as Judd kisses his teeth,

"Shuddup I am leaving your ass in the truck next time," he says as Luna laughs.

"As if you wouldn't dare, you love me too much." she gives him a challenging stare as He just shakes his head down at her, knowing she was right but he wasnt about to admit that.

//

Everything seemed to be indifferent, Cap was back and they were already headed for a call, it was only mid-shift of course and it was also Wednesday, in two days Luna would have to decide how she would feel, even though she knew. How she feels. It was the same way she always felt. And she didn't think that would ever change. They pull on the scene just to be greeted by some kid in hiking gear...

"My dad and I were crawling down this tunnel when he slipped. He fell face-first. Now he's stuck up to his knees. I couldn't pull him out."

"Do you know what angle your dad got stuck at?" Judd asks the boy shakes his head no.

"Were his legs like this, this, or this?" Owen does different angles with his hands.

"Uh, like... like that." The kid does a 90-degree angle,

"So do you remember how far in y'all went, how far down, how many turns, any of that?"

"No. No, it was dark, and... and I was scared. Wait. Wait! My dad called it "the Birth Canal." Does that help?"

" Yeah, it does. That's a great job remembering that." Judd walks over to the cave looking into it. 

"Please don't let him die down there."

"We're gonna do everything we can to get him out. In the meantime, I want you to go get those cuts looked at Paul, take Keithan down to EMS, and have him checked out." Owen orders as Paul hands the gear in his hand to Luna.

"You got it, Cap." He grabs the boy and leaves.

"All right. So?"

"They got to seal this thing up. I've had three calls where people got stuck down there."

"Three calls? How many saves?" Judd shakes his head with a pensive look. "How far down is it?"

"Uh, to the Birth Canal is 80 feet." He explains Luna is already grabbing the rest of the gear.

"All right, let's get geared up!" Owen orders as everyone is grabbing gear.

"Cap, Cap. There are some 90-degree turns in there that ain't but two-feet wide."

"Well, that excludes everybody except..." Owen and Judd look at Luna, Marjan, and Mateo.

The trio all look back at the two, before Marjan and Luna sigh...

"Rock, Paper, Scissors?" Marjan suggests,

Luna shrugs. "Nah I'll do it, only cause I know your scary ass is afraid of small spaces."

Marjan just shakes her head at the woman. "Mhm, and your scary ass is afraid of Birds."

Mateo laughs along with Paul. "Shut the fuck up." Luna barks as they laugh harder.

"This reminds me of The Descent. It's where these monsters just jump out and rip these spelunker chicks in half..." Mateo had the biggest shit-eating grin on his face, as they crawled through the cave.

"Hey, Mateo."

" Yeah?"

"Would you please stop?" Luna mutters.

"Copy that."

"Bennett! Can you hear me?" Luna calls out.

"Oh. Oh, thank God! Who's there?"

"My name's Luna. I have Mateo with me. We're from Austin FD, and we're gonna get you out of here, okay?" Luna crawls down to where Bennett was his legs sticking out of the hole in the ground.

"Is Keithan okay?"

"Yeah, he's doing fine. He'll be a lot better once you're up there, too." Luna tosses her bag to the side.

"I'ma toss this down, Luna." Mateo tosses a rope and some pulleys down the tunnel.

" We're gonna pull you out of here, all right? Okay. You're doing good. Just hang in there. We're moving as fast as we can. All right, Mateo, I'm gonna throw this up to you. Ready to catch?" Luna had wrapped the gear around Bennett's ankles

"Got it."

"And pull!" she watches as Mateo starts pulling on the rope. "Come on."

"Ow! Ow!"

"Okay, stop! Stop, stop, stop." Luna yells. "He's in there pretty good. Okay, take that back up to the surface and drill in rope anchors at every corner so it doesn't snag."

"Okay. What about you?"

"I need to open this tunnel up." Luna reaches for the automatic Chisel from her bag. "Okay, Bennett, you're gonna feel some vibrations, and I have to warn you, this may not feel good."

"How we looking down there, Luna?" Mateo had made it back to the surface, while Luna finished chiseling around the hole that Benett was stuck in.

"I just need to add a little lube, and we should be good to go." she places her radio back down on her hip. " Okay. I'm pouring soap solution on you now to reduce the friction. How are you holding up?"

"Eh, I can't... I can't... I find it hard to breathe. I don't know why. My chest hurts." Bennett replies.

"Well, your lungs weren't built to hold the weight of your body. But we're almost done."

"-Okay," Bennett replies.

"All right Here we go. Do it, Cap."

"Okay!"

Bennett's legs start moving further out of the hole. "It's working. It's working." He lets out a piercing groan. "Stop! Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop." The ropes stop moving. "Bennett, what happened?"

"My chest... there's a rock protruding." He explains.

'Can you flex your back and lift yourself?"

"I can't breathe." He says as Luna clicks her radio again.

"Cap, we have a problem. He's snagged on a rock, and if he had any strength left, he could just lift himself clearly, but he's about to asphyxiate."

"Put the radio next to him."

"Ben, you still with me? Okay, my cap wants you to hear something." she places the radio down next to where Ben is stuck in the rock. His son's voice talks play over the radio and give him a speech about conquering it all and not giving up on giving it everything he's got Luna can't help but sigh because part of her needed to hear that too.

"On three, everything you've got. One, two... now!" she yells into the radio as they all start pulling on the ropes. "He's clear! He's clear! Send down a basket so we can get him out of here." of course, they get Bennett out of there just in time for him to have another heart-to-heart with his son.

It wasnt until Thursday that they had their next shift and their next call, Luna hops down from the rig followed by Mateo and the gang greeting the worried father. 

"Hey, Harry's this way. He was playing in his room. I knew something was wrong when it got quiet."

" Too quiet? Yeah, I know that sound."

"You must be a dad, too. He put one of his toy cars up his nose. When I told him we needed to go to the emergency room, he bolted. Now he's up there. He's very nimble." the dad says as they look at the child he was on the roof of the house covering both hands over his nose.

"All right, Judd, raise the ladder. Paul, you're going up." Owen explains as everyone else watches Paul talk with Harry, he convinces him to come down with him and Paul removes his turnout gear now kneeling in front of Harry.

"Okay, Harry, showtime. Now, on the count of three, I want you to blow your nose like you have the biggest booger in the world in there, okay?" Paul explains the little boy nods.

"Okay."

"Okay. One, two, three. Blow. Blow, blow." Harry blows as hard as he can.

"It didn't work."

"It's okay, no worries. It just means we're gonna have to go to plan B, where I use my special "toy car removal" device." he pulls out some very long forceps.

"Promise it won't hurt, though, right?"

"Uh, yep." Paul nods as Luna and Marjan have the biggest grins on their faces.

"You swear?"

" Do I swear?" Paul looks to his left at Cap who mouths. "Oh yeah." "I swear." Judd grips Harry's head gently tilting it at a slight angle.

"Okay, buddy. Here we go."

"Ow, ow, ow.  Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. -Ow! Ow!"

" -Hey Got it!" Paul yanks the car out of the kid's nose, "Look, there's not even any blood." Harry runs to his dad who picks him up.

"You lied! You promised it wouldn't hurt! It hurts!" The little boy angrily yells at Paul

"I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't realize that it was gonna..."

"Wow, you lied to a child?" Mateo teases.

"-You're a monster," Marjan says.

"I-I kind of feel like a monster now.Thank you." Paul yells as everyone laughs. An hour after they left they returned to the same house only this time the dad had a car jammed up his nose. 

"After you left, I kept wondering how Harry got it so far up there."

"So you figured it out." The dad nods. Owen sighs snapping his fingers. "Tweezers," he says as Marjan and Luna are cackling. They were trying to hold it together but they couldnt at the sight of a grown man with a car up his nose.

It was Thursday evening and while everyone was settling for Dinner, Luna was in the back, she was crying from the voicemail she got from Gabby. That woman knew way too much about Luna and it made her wonder why she never wanted to return to Chicago. She was a blubbering mess and her hands were shaking. She was trying her best not to let it show, not to let it look like she was completely and utterly losing her shit. All this time, she never once cried in years about it. In all honesty she would just get drunk and call in sick. Burry herself in her blankets and not come out for a while. She used every ounce of energy she had to keep her shit together.

"Hey, Lu cap told me to come to get you Dinner is ready." Mateo's voice practically makes Luna jump out of her skin. "Lu?"

"Yeah, Mateo I'll be down in a sec."

"You alright?" He goes to touch her shoulder and she shy's away.

"Mateo I said I will be down in sec okay?" her voice was harsher than she meant it to be.

He just nods walking away as she cries more, that night was hell she had gotten through dinner the best she could feigning smiles and laughter to the best of her ability. But the minute she got inside her apartment well her legs wobbled to the toilet bowl there she emptied everything she had in her stomach. Tonight was going to be hell and she wasnt looking forward to it.

It had been three days since anyone had heard from Luna, her phone was dead and she was quite literally having the biggest mental breakdown she had ever had since moving to Austin. Judd was currently pounding on Luna's apartment door. He had been for the past twenty minutes. Marjan was dialing her number over and over again.

One of Luna's neighbors, peaks through her chain of the door. It was the woman across the hall, she had known Luna since she moved in. she even had a key to her place in case Luna would be gone for long periods and couldnt feed her cat.

"I am about to break down the door in about five minutes."

"Relax, I have a key Django," Marjan mutters as She sighs placing her phone back in her pocket. She pulls the key ring out pushing the key into the knob it opens and Judd steps inside pushing Marjan behind him.

"Luna!" his southern drawl was more prominent than it had ever bent. As they step further into the apartment, they see how clean it is on the outside, there was no sign of Luna on the couch, and her bed was untouched. "Luna?" Judd yells again and they step more into the house, her cat was meowing and scratching at the bathroom door. And Marjan taps Judd on his shoulder nodding in that direction.

"Luna?" They approach the door and try to open it something is blocking the door, "Help me move it." they both push the door and Judd peeks his head through the crack in it. "There leaning against the door was Luna. "Dear Lord, Luna!" Judd uses all his strength to pry open the door.

Luna is laying there on the floor, there was blood everywhere as Judd cups her face. He kneels down while Marjan is checking her pulse. Judd is crying while cupping her face.

"I got a pulse" they were shaking her awake, and Luna's eyes were rolling around under her closed lids.

"Call 9-1-1" Marjan was already doing it.

"Ten minutes out," she says as Judd shakes his head,

"No, that's too long." he picks Luna up and carries her to his truck where he speeds the entire time there. They manage to get Luna into the hospital where they have to pump her stomach. She had swallowed a plethora of different medications and cut her arms pretty badly.

Luckily for her, they didn't need to call her emergency contact cause he was sitting at her bedside with her. He hadn't left her side since she arrived and Judd wasnt planning on it for a while. People came and went but he stayed.

After another day Luna's eyes fluttered open she looked around seeing Judd slouched over in a chair.

"That doesn't look comfortable Juddy," she murmurs her throat raspy and dry.

"Jitterbug." he cups her hand hoping out of his sleep and scooting his chair closer to the bed.

"What happened?" she asks as Judd gives her a look.

"What do you remember?"

"I had dinner with you and the crew and TK at the firehouse. Everything else is a blur."

Judd was a tough son of a bitch and Luna had rarely seen him cry, but at that moment he started sobbing and she knew it was bad. He explained everything and she felt like utter shit. She made a promise to him that she wouldn't do that again or he might bring her back to life again just to murder her. Before she decides to explain everything to her crew. She had never told anyone what she was about to tell them not even Eddie and not her brother, Mac or Athena.

"Friday was the anniversary of my son, He was born six years ago on this day. There was a blizzard in Chicago the biggest one anyone of us had seen and my water broke, I was all alone by myself Taylor and I had been broken up for a while. I was scared to deliver by myself and my friend told me to wait and that she would be there to help me and..." Luna was holding it together the best she could.

"You dont have to finish."

Luna nods. "I have to. I can't keep this burden on myself anymore. The baby was stillborn. The storm led up enough for us to go to the hospital where I had been told that my beautiful baby wasnt alive anymore. It took an entire month for me to find a funeral home that would Bury him. And every year I find myself hating the idea of it. I dont know maybe this time I wanted to be with him. Tell him I was sorry for not being good enough to birth him alive and shit." she just sobs more as everyone was now hugging her, minus Owen and Tk they were most likely sleeping and they all knew it took everything to wake them up if they weren't in the firehouse.

That night Luna felt more connected with her team than anyone she had ever met and she was not missing Los Angeles one bit.

Word count: 4600