The trip back was made in silence. John was piloting as the tiger sat in back, cleaning her claws. Ronon was lost in thought the entire way back to Atlantis and left the jumper without a word the moment it was okay for him to leave. He was silent during the debriefing and ignored anyone who tried to talk to him. The tiger was deemed not a threat to the people on the base and was given quarters. Teyla had proposed that she live in the forests of the mainland, but after Weir told Becket what had happened with the puddle jumper, the Scottish doctor wanted to keep a close eye on her. Ronon skipped dinner, his stomach clenching at the mere mention of food and went straight to his quarters, pacing in the small room for hours, his muscles quivering with tension. He at last decided to go for a run along the flies that go along the ceilings of the base.

As he ran, his mind kept going back to the scene in the forest. He could still hear the strangled bleat of the deer and the wet ripping sound as the tiger tore open its stomach. He ran faster along the walkways, but a new sound joined the sound of his boots on the metal. Something soft and almost inaudible, it stopped when he did and he listened closely to his surroundings, but there was only silence. He started to run and the sound was back, this time behind him. He looked over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of luminescent green eyes in the shadows. He looked forward and ran. The platforms shook as whatever was chasing him took off again. He could feel it getting closer, almost feel its' breath. He stopped and turned to face it and was tackled to the ground, the tiger was crouched above him, her paws square on his shoulders. Her breath still smelled of blood and meat and she looked down at him with curiously intelligent gold eyes.

The tiger moved her paws from his shoulders to the floor under him and lay down on him, her face in the bend of his neck. He very cautiously put his arms around her massive body and stroked her silken fur, feeling the muscles beneath. Her chest pressed against his with every breath she took and they fell into a kind of rhythm. Every time she exhaled he inhaled so they moved with each other instead of against each other. He could feel her heavy heartbeat against his chest, strong and rhythmic. His own heart fell into step with hers and he almost physically felt the connection that had been forming between them snap into place like two pieces of the same puzzle.

After a while she got up, and he was hit by a sudden chill that made him shiver as the warmth of her body vanished. Ronon got up off the floor and she walked beside him as he went back to his quarters. She left him at the door and broke into a jog to get back to her own, the pads on her paws making her almost completely silent on the metal floors. He went into his quarters after watching her vanish into the shadows and lay on his bed, quickly falling to sleep. His mind, once again, at ease.

She was waiting for him outside his quarters when he left them the next morning and he gently touched her head as he went past. She followed as he went to the mess hall to get breakfast. He gave no notice to the people staring as he got his food and went to a table, sitting down and starting to eat. The tiger sat down on the floor next to him after smelling his food and giving it a disinterested shrug that made him smile.

"It may not be deer, but its food." He said and she sat still as a stone as he ate, the only movement coming from her being her eyes as she watched the people walk past. She gave out a low growl as Rodney walked past and he jumped away from her, her eyes narrowed at him as she watched him almost run out of the mess hall. "You're never gonna forgive him for shooting you in the chest, are you." she gave him a look that told her answer and he snorted. "Didn't think so." Elizabeth showed up in the hall and went straight to their table.

"Hello Ronon, Miss Tiger." She said, looking at them and they nodded at her in unison. She saw this and her smile widened. "I see you two are getting along."

"We've come to an understanding." Ronon said.

"And that is…"

"She's an animal, and she has to do what she has to do to survive."

"Well that's good. You looked a little spooked when you guys got back yesterday, had us worried. You're supposed to be the unspookable."

"I'm fine now."

"So I can see. And by the way Ronon, you were right."

"About what?"

"Becket did some digging in the Ancient archives and it turns out, when the Ancients were at war with the Wraith, a couple scientists started to do experiments on animals. Trying to get it so they would have the Ancient gene. Tigers were among the animals to be experimented on." Elizabeth said.

"Why would they do that?" he asked.

"A scientist made several journal entries stating that the animals who successfully acquired the gene were then paired with a military leader. So think about it Ronon, the Ancients were at war at that time."

"If a leader was injured, his or her animal could pilot a jumper or cruiser to safety or continue to fight." Ronon said and she nodded.

"Exactly. Rather ingenious, if I do say so myself. So our Lady Tiger here is probably a descendant of one of the tigers that were tested on."

"So why does she and I get along so well? I don't have the Ancestor gene."

"No, but you are a native of this galaxy, that probably has something to do with it."

"So is Teyla."

"Yes, but our feline friend chose you, Ronon. Think about that. Now I would love to stay and talk more, but I just remembered the mountain of paperwork that has to be done." She went to walk away, but froze and turned back to them. "I almost forgot, I'm having a jumper prepped to go to the mainland. She's gonna need to hunt again."

"Okay." Ronon said and she gave them a small smile before walking off.

He stayed with the jumper this time with John as she went out hunting. He watched her disappear into the forest, blending in quickly despite her orange, black, and white fur. A couple hours later and she still didn't emerge from the trees.

"She should have come out by now." Ronon said, standing from his seat on the ramp.

"She's probably still eating." John said but he didn't sound very convinced of his own words.

"You don't believe that, do you?"

"No, I don't." he said and they went into the forest. They weren't twenty feet into the trees when they came across the eaten carcass of a deer, the flies had found it and the smell of decomp was heavy in the heated air. The abdominal cavity had been cleaned out; white ribs gleamed in the light coming through the trees. The neck had been ripped open and shining red blood stained the ground. The deer's eyes were still open and glazed over in death. "Don't know what I was expecting. Bare bones maybe, not this." John said as he looked down at the carcass.

"She's just an animal Sheppard." Ronon said.

"I know, but she acts so human sometimes." A human scream split the air and they took off towards the sound. There was crashing among the trees, the snarl of an animal and the familiar roar of their tiger. They came to a clearing and froze seeing the large bear-like creature up on its hind legs. The tiger was in front of it, and a small child was behind her curled into a fetal ball. "Ronon! Get the kid!" John ordered and Ronon tried, but the order had alerted the creature to their presence and it turned on them, suddenly disinterested in the tiger and the child. It roared and started to swing. There was a feline roar and the animal was knocked to the ground as the tiger pounced on it, her teeth set into its neck. It knocked her off almost effortlessly and she collided heavily with a tree, falling to the ground and staying still.

Seeing her lying there on the ground unmoving set fire boiling in Ronon's veins. A red film dropped over his vision and he removed his long blade from its sheath on his back. He slashed at the animal, which had gotten to its feet and knocked it back with a spray of blood. He dodged blows from its paws and dove past it, dragging the blade over its stomach through fur, skin, fat and the thin membrane underneath. Its skin opened and steaming organs spilled out onto the ground. It fell onto the forest floor and Ronon got to his feet, going up behind it and placing the tip of his blade on the back of its neck. With one strong push, he pushed it through to bury the tip into the dirt. He jerked the blade out and slipped it back into the sheath after cleaning it off the best he could with a leaf. His eyes went to the tiger that was still laying unnaturally still and he went to her, kneeling next to her and laying his hand flat on her side.

He could hear John behind him picking up the crying child and starting to reassure the young boy. The villagers started to stream into the clearing, probably drawn by the sounds. They froze at the sight of the bear-creatures eviscerated corpse. A woman, probably the boy's mother, came forward and took him out of John's arms, sobbing loudly with relief. John started to tell the villagers what happened but Ronon tuned him out, his eyes still on the tiger lying in front of him. Her chest rose and fell faintly and when he put his ear to her chest he could hear her heart beating, though weakly. Her eyes opened weakly and she looked at him. Her heart gave out one large beat that shook her body and fell into its normal rhythm. Her chest expanded as she took in a deep breath and she got to her feet, weaving slightly. He put his arm around her shoulders to steady her and she leaned against him. The villagers left the clearing and John came over to him.

"She okay?" he asked.

"I think she will be."