All characters belong to Janet. The mistakes are mine alone. Lots of Tank and a Boerboel ... Happy Birthday a few days early, ShellSueD!

"What the fuck?"

Hearing me speak more than one syllable inside the vehicle is a strange enough occurrence for Stephanie to stop rooting around her box of chicken nuggets, looking for the biggest ones to eat first, and follow my stare aimed through the windshield and at what I'd stopped the SUV for.

I'd admit it to no one except Ranger, who understands, the Happy Meal that contained the six-piece box of nuggets had been my bribe to get Steph to let me enter the home of the FTA we were after ahead of her. I trust her to do her job, and do it quickly and effectively since she finally agreed to some basic training. But still feeling residual aches from the time she and I almost got blown up in the Pine Barrens, I'd do anything to avoid Ranger ever worrying again about her on my watch. Even purposely order a fucking kid's meal full of shit no one should eat, let alone children or your best friend's life preserving-partner.

"That's either the muscliest dog I have ever freakin' seen, or you Rangeguys have finally figured out how to shape-shift," Steph said.

"It's a dog. A Boerboel, or South African Mastiff, if I'm correctly remembering the show I was watching on the most powerful dog breeds. They were bred as guard dogs to protect farms against lions."

"So it's half dog/half Hulk."

Despite trying to maintain my stoic protector vibe, I felt myself almost grinning. No wonder Ranger found himself more than dick-deep in love with her. She does make a day better and can force a smile against our better judgments.

"He's black not green, so not exactly Hulk. But he's one hell of a powerful dog. Why's he just standing in the road?" I asked myself more than her.

Not being a man who kills time and brain cells with pointless small talk, Steph pounced on the opportunity for a conversation with me.

"I don't see a collar," she told me, her nose almost flattened against the glass of the windshield at this point. "Look at that! He just sat his butt down like he owns the frickin' road. Hmmm ... he's obviously a he, has more muscles than one body needs, is wearing an all-black coat, and he appears to have just decided that we're not moving until he's ready for us to. He HAS to be a RangeGuy!"

"He'd better move. I ain't got all day."

She smiled so wide, I had to fight myself not to match it. "The fries are getting to you, aren't they, Tank?" She asked, holding up the carton of crap and shaking it too close to my face. "You're trying to escape the tempting smell of them before you cave and provide me with teasing rights for the next six months. Admit it, I'm right."

"No," was all I would give her.

She claimed that as a victory until I revved my engine hoping to make the dog move and get out of my way.

"You are not going forward until he goes along on his way, so stop with the engine-revving."

"You got a better idea? I could ..."

"You're not allowed to shoot him or run over him, either!" Steph ordered me.

My respect for her grew. I know she would've bravely told me to back off even if she weren't Ranger's woman. Saving all life is important to her. She can scare the shit out of us seventy percent of the time with just a 'watch me' grin and an over-the-shoulder finger wave, but she's a soft touch when it comes to animals, kids, and abandoned birthday cakes.

"I'm a cat guy, but that doesn't mean I'd shoot a dog for not being a cat. I just wanna get back to the Rangeman building and turn you safely over to Ranger again."

"Someone's scared of his best friend."

"If your best friend is Ranger Manoso, you'd be stupid not to be respectfully-terrified of the man."

"You have a point," she said, as she unbuckled her seat belt and reached for the handle of the door.

"What the fuck are you doing? You're not going ..." I bit out, trying to grab her wrist before she made it out of the vehicle.

It takes Ranger two hours to get her up every morning, but she can haul ass whenever you want her to sit still.

"Don't approach him, Stephanie," I ordered in a calm voice so I wouldn't spook either of them while I positioned my body to take the bite if the dog lunged at her. "You don't know what he'll do."

"I know exactly what he'll do when confronted with some fast food," she told me, before holding out a chicken nugget. "Are you hungry, big guy? Having a bad day? These always make me feel better. You can have one or all of them if you want." She laughed as a nugget disappeared into the jaws of death before she'd even stopped speaking. "Awww, a dog after my own heart. I only have four more, so you're going to have to pace yourself a little."

I had put my hand on my gun to take immediate action if needed, but despite the size and strength of the breed, this member of it seems only interested in eating a mid-day meal, not turning my partner into his new chew toy.

"See that?" Steph asked me. "He is exactly like you guys. He looks all big and scary on the outside, but is a complete marshmallow on the inside."

I wanted to deny it, but like unsuspecting dominos … one by one the men fell under her carefree, the-world's-actually-good spell. The canine-equivalent to her quickly finished the poultry by-products and rolled over to get a belly rub in the middle of a typically busy street.

"Steph, don't push it," I told her, when she looked like she was going to attempt to pet him.

"We're good. Aren't we, dog with no name that I can see?"

A horn blew, causing everyone but me to jump. I'd heard the car turn our way a hundred feet ago.

"What do we do?" Steph asked me.

"See if he'll follow you a little closer to the shoulder of the road and I'll wave the asshole around."

I kept one eye on her and the other on the car with the too-impatient driver wanting to get nowhere fast instead of just waiting a fucking second. By the time I had turned my attention fully back to our current situation, Steph was already trying to lure the dog into the SUV.

"We can't put him in there," I said as carefully as if I were in the process of defusing a bomb.

She paused and put two hands on her hips. Anyone who knows her understands that now would be the time to protect your balls.

"Why not? We can't just leave him here. Someone could hit him. It doesn't look like he has owners handy. We aren't exactly near a big tourist hangout for him to have just wandered away from his family." She paused and looked at me. "Do I need to call Ranger to get his permission for you to do the right thing here?"

She has a way of making you feel guilty for doing things you have no reason to feel guilty for.

"No. I know he'll approve this relocation when you put it like that to him."

"See … there's a reason you're my favorite Merry Man."

"I thought Hal was your favorite?" I surprised myself by saying.

"He was my favorite yesterday for offering to make sure Grandma got home from bingo okay. Today you're my favorite."

"Both for doing what you want."

"You know me better than that, Tank. All of your Rangeguys are my favorite for being prime examples of what real men are supposed to be ... sweet, loyal, brave, and every one of you have a conscience that likes to remain clear."

"Ranger really is lucky."

"That's what he says, but we all know the truth. I'm the lucky one. Hopefully this guy will feel the same way."

She went around to the back door on the passenger's side and opened it, reaching into the front seat to retrieve her fries.

"Come on, big guy. Do you want a fry? There's more where this comes from if you hop on in and don't bite Tank."

"That's not funny, Steph. It's a real possibility."

"No it isn't. He and I will both behave."

"You're staying in the front seat. No arguments."

"Fine, but can I hold onto your gun for the drive so you don't feel tempted to use it?"

"No."

She risked grease stains to the upholstery and dumped a few fries onto the backseat. I noticed that she also added the apple slices just so she won't have to eat them. And then she poured some of my bottled water into her already empty, except for ice, soda cup. When he jumped in and immediately turned the backseat into a fucking car wash, we shut the doors and proceeded on our way back to Rangeman. The second round of 'traffic' backing up behind us had been more considerate once they realized a rescue was taking place.

Steph flipped between staring at the rear view mirror and turning her body towards the backseat, though both views remained the same. The dog was sitting up on her side of the car and looking out the side window. If I didn't know better, I'd swear he was gloating over at every car we passed.

"Maybe you should put the window down a little for him," Steph suggested. "Bob always enjoyed that."

"Bob isn't a dog. He's a digestive tract with feet."

"True, but he still liked feeling the wind blowing through his fur."

"This one has a short coat," I pointed out even as I lowered the window so she'd let it go.

"Was that so hard?"

"Yes. So quit with the 'suggestions' while you're ahead," I warned her.

"What suggestions should Stephanie stop giving you?" Ranger was suddenly asking.

I looked at my partner with even more respect. She had Ranger on the line without me seeing when she'd put in a call to him.

"Your woman has a way of getting her way," I carefully answered.

Piss off Stephanie, and you'll pay repeatedly. Piss off Ranger, and you'll suffer permanently. There's no winning unless both of them are happy with you.

"No shit," Ranger said back. "What did she make you buy for lunch?"

"A Happy Meal with nuggets instead of a burger. I even had to go into the place to get it since the Drive-Thru was backed up into next week."

I could see his shit-eating grin in my mind. "You got off easy," I was told.

"That's what I thought ten minutes ago, but round two was just waiting to punch me."

"That's why I called," Steph told him. "We were on our way home from dropping Halken off at the TPD, and a little puppy was sitting in the road in front of us like he was waiting for us to come along and rescue him."

"He's not little," I corrected. "And he's not a puppy. He's a full-grown Boerboel. He can probably bench press more than Santos manages."

A slight pause, which is never good when it comes to Ranger. "And there were no issues?"

"Only that Steph decided to make friends with him and lure him into our vehicle with chicken nuggets and fries."

I can tell his mood suddenly changed. "You still hungry, Babe?"

"Yeah. I sacrificed my Happy Meal to make the dog happy. We're about five minutes out. Are you okay with us ..."

"You," I corrected.

"Fine, you big baby. Are you okay with me bringing home an overgrown sweetheart, plus a dog? I couldn't leave him there. I'd be awake all night wondering what happened to him and fearing it wasn't something good. And you know what I'm like when I'm sleepy but wide-eyed and worried."

"I'll meet you in the garage and we'll go from there," the Boss said, which is exactly what I predicted to hear from him.

The look I shot Stephanie said as much.

She ignored me and focused on Ranger. "I love you. I knew you'd understand why I couldn't just abandon him and conveniently forget that I did."

"Don't get too attached to him," he advised.

"Too late. People told me the same thing about you, and that's worked out pretty good. So I'm feeling hopeful about this."

"We've worked out better than good. I'm already waiting."

"Gotcha. We're turning onto Haywood now. We'll see you in a sec. Okay, Mr. No Name," she said towards the backseat, "when you see a hot guy with a killer grin and sexy scent, just do that belly rub thing again and you'll be in."

I drove through the gate Ranger had fobbed open for us and parked before responding to her comment. "I hate to break this to you, Steph, but the only belly exposure Ranger responds to is yours."

She glared at me before getting out and releasing the hulk-hound. Only after did she sock me in the arm for my observation. The dog didn't react well to his chicken-supplier being annoyed with someone. He sat between us at her feet and growled my way.

"I changed my mind. I like him," Ranger said, walking over to us. "He reminds me of myself when someone has pissed my Babe off. What did you do, Tank?"

"I was trying to up his," she said towards the dog-head she was petting in order to calm him down, again not unlike what she does with Ranger, "chances of becoming one of us, but Tank said you only react positively to me."

"Why would you hit him for that? He's telling the truth."

"Yeah, but you're a really good guy on top of being in love with me. You want to save and protect the innocent any chance you get. This guy's another chance."

It's been interesting to see their relationship go from mentor/mentee to a solid friendship, to something that scared Ranger in a way nothing else could. He admitted to needing Steph when he needs nothing and No One. Now I see why. I used to want what they have, but now I see that life is easier without it ... if one look or word can turn your diehard rules into blurry outlines. Though I still can't help but wonder what it'd feel like to have someone love me as much as Steph obviously loves The Boss.

He curled an arm around my day's partner and kissed her. Ranger does miss her whenever she's out of his sight, but I also know this is a test to see if the dog tried to come between them. Everyone knows that definitely won't be tolerated, and our canine-captee seemed to sense it. He just rested his massive skull against her leg and issued a soft whine so she would continue to scratch his ears as she gave the Boss some personal attention too.

"Congratulations. Looks like you've got yourself a boy," I deadpanned.

Again, Steph ignored me and looked up at Ranger. "We've talked about being ready to maybe get married sometime soon, so we should be able to handle having a furry boy."

"He could take your arm off if he wanted to, Steph."

"If he had wanted to, he would've done it by now. We had lunch together instead."

Ranger cut his eyes to me. "Get Hector to meet us upstairs. We'll start with a microchip scan to see if he has owners somewhere looking for him."

"No one was around, and there's no houses on that stretch of street," Steph told him. "He was just sitting there in the middle of our lane like he knew we were coming to pick him up."

Sensing an impending difference of opinion, I kept myself busy by calling Hector. "Te necesitamos en cinco con el escáner," I told him. I listened to his assurance that he's already in motion and then I faced the trio again. "He's on his way."

"Good," Ranger said, appearing alright with giving belly rubs to four-leggers Steph approves of. "Let's go."

He whistled and the dog rolled back onto all four feet faster than Steph's eyebrows shot up. "A simple 'Come on, Boy' would've sufficed."

"Why? When someone or something has serious potential, it's insulting to ignore it."

Steph glanced at me. "Ranger's the head of an empire for that reason," I told her.

"Jeez. Why couldn't you have been a girl?" She asked the dog. "I need some more estrogen around here."

"Estrogen my ass," I said. "You're as much of a RangeMan as every man here."

"Thank you," she replied. "I've been trying to fit in here."

"You don't have to try, Stephanie," Ranger said, getting the elevator for the four of us. "You've belonged here before there was an concrete home base in Trenton."

"You're sweet to say so. Now we just need to extend that to you saying he belongs here too."

"Scan first, then we'll talk."

We collected a crowd when we got off on five. We could hear random 'What's with the dog?' 'What did Steph do now?' to something similar to my original 'What the fuck?' and Steph's 'What is that?' from the men on duty.

"The short explanation is we were on our way back here and Tank spotted him in the road and stopped the car," Steph tried to explain.

"Cool," Bobby said. "We've been needing a dog around here."

"He even looks like he works here," Ram added. "He's huge, wears black, and enjoys the company of a pretty lady."

"That's sorta what I'd said," Steph told them. "Minus the lady part."

By then Hector had arrived and wanded the dog's neck. It's clear Steph was upset when Hector gave a name and address for whoever paid to have an ID chip implanted.

"Run it," Ranger ordered Vince.

"Do we have to?" Steph asked him.

"Yes."

Being more than efficient, Vince had results in less than two minutes. "Uh, Boss?" He began, but he shut up right after.

"What does it say?" Ranger asked, but he and I had already moved towards Vince's screen.

Three seconds of reading the asshole's history and lengthy rap sheet, and a decision was made. No one should be near this fucker, never mind returned to him.

"He's all yours, Babe."

"Really? Just like that?" She asked.

"Yes."

"What the heck did you guys read?"

"Nothing I want you to. We're going to assume he needed a better home and took it upon himself to find one. Now he has it, but he will undergo daily training so he understands who is a threat and who he's not allowed to show aggression towards."

"Sounds good to me. He definitely has to learn that Rex is a brother not a snack," Steph said, sitting down on the carpet so she could hug two-thirds of her new Rangepet. "We're happy to have run into each other, aren't we?"

The dog was too busy licking her face to answer. For such a badass-looking creature, he's as affable as Steph is.

"This is the start of a good story. We basically just stole a dog," she said to the control room. "What should we name him?"

A collective rumble went through the room as the men discussed it.

"How about Monroe?" Ram asked her.

"Monroe? Because you had/have a crush on Marilyn Monroe?"

"No. Nothing against her, cause she's hot and all, but we meant it as a nod to the Monroe Doctrine," he answered.

At her puzzled look, I explained. "You could call it an 1823 line drawn in the sand."

"Back then it was created to keep European monarchs from interfering in how we do things here. Our interpretation of it for today, and for this building, is a 'don't mess with us and we won't fuck you up' promise," Bobby added.

"And your beast epitomizes that," Vince said. "He looks like he'll chew your ass up, but not unless you do something to provoke him."

"I can get behind that if you're speaking strictly about no one messing with anyone here. So Monroe he now is."

"Are you really ready for the changes we're making to our lives, Steph?" Ranger asked her.

"Yup. And if anyone has a problem with it, they can bite me right before Monroe bites them."