A/N: This is a Babe AU story. It will contain language, violence and smut. All recognizable characters belong to JE, the rest are my creation. Although I have been a pet parent for many years, I am not a vet, so any medical or procedural mistakes are all mine.

Chapter 1

Stephanie Plum closed the hatch of her dark blue SUV with an exhausted sigh. It had been a long day and she was ready to sit back and relax in the big Jacuzzi tub that waited for her at home.

Reaching for the driver's side door, her thoughts of relaxation were interrupted by the screech of tires as a black Lincoln Navigator roared into the lot. An enormous black man jumped out of the vehicle clutching a limp kitten in his giant hands. He quickly strode over to her with a look of extreme panic on his face.

"Are you Dr. Plum?" He frantically asked.

"Yes," Stephanie replied as she reached for the kitten in his arms. "Let me take her? Him?"

"Him," the large black man responded. "His name is Mr. Whiskers."

"Let's go inside so I can examine Mr. Whiskers and find out what's going on, okay?"

The man's shoulders visibly relaxed and he quietly trudged after Stephanie.

Opening the door to her vet clinic, Stephanie quickly turned on the lights and carried the small animal to the first exam room. She worked quickly assessing the kitten's status while asking questions regarding its recent food consumption, bathroom routine and general condition.

After just a few minutes, she opened a cupboard and took out a small tube.

"What's that," the man asked?

"It's NutriCal," she replied. Taking the cap off and squeezing a small amount onto her fingertip, she held it up to the kitten's mouth and it slowly begin licking the paste off her finger. "It's something that is given to kittens or puppies to add to their nourishment. It's like an extra little boost when their sugar levels drop."

As Mr. Whiskers finished licking the paste, his small head brushed up against her hand and purred.

"I can't believe it! He's already so responsive. I thought," the man stuttered, "I thought he was gone."

Stephanie smiled and handed Mr. Whiskers back to the man. "No worries. It's actually a common problem. I just need you to keep an eye on him. If he starts to seem listless, give him a small amount, and make sure he always has plenty of fresh water available."

"Thank you so much, Dr. Plum. I promise, I will take very good care of him."

"It's my pleasure, Mr..."

"Tank."

"My pleasure, Mr. Tank."

"No, not Mr. Tank, my name is Tank."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Tank," Stephanie smiled as she cleaned up the exam room.

"What do I owe you?" Tank asked. "I know it's after hours, but I don't mind paying an emergency fee."

"No charge," Stephanie smiled and patted the kittens head.

"No charge? I don't understand," Tank questioned.

"It was a simple case and if I charge you my office manager will be all over me about the paperwork. I hate paperwork; it's a pain in the ass," she laughed.

"I know what you mean. I would rather be in the field all day then doing paperwork."

"What do you do for a living, Tank?" Stephanie inquired.

"I work for RangeMan Security. We specialize in residential and commercial security as well as high bond skip tracing."

"Wow, that must be interesting work, if not a little scary," she grimaced.

"Well, not as scary as the military missions I usual go on," he replied with a smirk.

"Military missions? You're a solider?"

"Most of the employees at RangeMan are either current or former military. The owner has been my best friend since basic training and when he started his company 10 years ago that was pretty much all he hired," Tank explained.

"The only other person I know that was in the military was my father, but he's been out since I was a kid." Stephanie stuck out her hand to shake Tank's and said, "I know it might not mean much, but I do appreciate your service to our country."

Tank was shocked. Nobody ever thanked him or the guys at RangeMan for their service. There was something different about Dr. Plum and he felt like he owed her for saving Mr. Whisker's life.

"No need to thank me, it's all part of the job," he mumbled. "I would however, like to thank you in some way for helping me with Mr. Whiskers. How about I come back in a few days and bring some guys to evaluate the security of your clinic? Free of charge, of course."

Stephanie laughed, "No need, I really don't have any problems with security. I mean, who wants to break in and steal sick or injured animals?"

"You keep drugs on the premises, don't you?" Stephanie nodded, and Tank continued. "Even though they are for animals, I know that sometimes junkies break into vet clinics looking for a quick fix."

Stephanie agreed that she had heard of that happening, but insisted she was just fine with her current security arrangements.

As he turned to leave, Tank handed Stephanie his card. "Just in case you change your mind."

"I'll think about it. Thank you so much for your offer; I do appreciate you looking out for me."

"No problem, Dr. Plum," he replied as he stroked Mr. Whiskers head.

"Please, call me Stephanie or Steph, I never did like the title of doctor; too formal for me. All I want to do is take care of animals; it doesn't matter what you call me."

"Thank you Stephanie, and please let me know if there is anything I can do to help."

Three Weeks Later

Stephanie walked into her clinic with a cup of coffee in one hand and a bag containing 2 Boston creams in the other. Even though she worked out on a regular basis, and was in the best shape of her life, she still allowed herself a small sugar fix once a week.

"Good morning, Ashley," she greeted the receptionist.

"Morning, boss," Ashley replied. "Sara found a stray last night. She's in room 3 looking him over."

"Thanks, I'll check with her to see what's up." Stephanie walked into the exam room to see her vet tech looking over a beautiful German Shepherd. Sara had a puzzled look on her face.

"What's wrong, Sara," Stephanie asked; sitting her coffee and pasty bag down on the counter.

"Well, I'm a little confused. I found this guy last night wandering around the gas station when I stopped for fuel. He didn't have a collar so I kept him overnight and brought him in this morning to see if he had an ID chip implant."

"Did you find one?" Stephanie took a drink of her coffee and walked over to the exam table. The dog was still except for the thumping of his tail.

"I did, but the funny thing is, Wyatt, that's his name, is registered as a military dog."

"A military dog? How did he get loose?"

"I wondered about that too," Sara explained, "so I did a quick search and found out he was discharged with his owner about 6 months ago. He's actually a veteran; like his owner."

"That doesn't sound right," Stephanie responded. "From what I understand it's tough to get a dog discharged with its military handler. Those guys fight hard to stay together in civilian life."

"I know. It doesn't make sense to put up that much of a battle and then just let the dog run free." Sara suddenly had an idea. "You wouldn't happen to know anybody in the military that might help us figure this out, would you?"

Stephanie started to shake her head and then remembered Tank. "Actually, I think I do know somebody that can help us. Let me make a call and I'll let you know."

Stephanie walked into her office and found the card Tank had given her a few weeks ago. At the time she didn't think she would need his help, but now she was glad for his contact information. If something bad was happening with Wyatt's owner, she wanted to make sure he wasn't sent back to a home that couldn't properly care for him.

Stephanie took another sip of her coffee as the call connected. "Good Morning, RangeMan Security, how may I direct your call?"