Title: Lost and Found

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age, nor any of the charcters associated with it, though I do own Nana.

Pairing: Diego/OC

Summary: What if Sid wasn't the only creature left behind that day?

The group stared at the female sabre-tooth, who stood on trembling legs.

Diego growled, wary of the stranger, and wondering where the rest of her pack was. Tigers never travelled alone. "And you are?"

"Hungry," she answered curtly. "Now if you don't mind I need to go catch something else to eat, since you so kindly made my dinner fall off the cliff."

She turned to leave but Diego was next to her in a flash, blocking her way. "That didn't answer my question."

She glared at him. "Sure it did. You just didn't get the answer you were looking for." Her tail flicked agitatedly, eyes narrowing. "Now move before I make you, tiger."

Diego merely smirked. "In your condition? You couldn't take down a fly at this point, let alone another tiger."

Her eyes narrowed in anger as he touched a nerve, and she shifted her weight between her front legs. "Perhaps not a fly," she snapped, scanning the odd group assembled behind Diego who were watching her warily. Her gaze landed on the infant still happily chewing on melon as he sat at Manny's feet. "But a human baby would do just fine."

She smirked at Diego's low, warning rumble and made as if to back off. Suddenly she turned and leapt over Diego and took off at a run, snatching up the baby between her teeth as she passed Manny. Stunned, for a moment the group did nothing.

Then as one they gave chase.

"Sorry kid," she muttered, as the baby dangled by it's tunic from her fangs. "But you're an easy meal." The baby merely looked up at her and burbled, happily slobbering on the piece of melon still clutched in its fingers. She snorted. "Glad you're happy."

Her eyes scanned the landscape looking for a large tree she could climb or a cave to disappear into but there was nothing but the flat stretch of bare ground to her left and dangerous cliff edge to her right. It didn't help that she was tiring, her hunger sapping her strength and the ground shaking beneath her feet as the mammoth came after her, the roar of the sabre-tooth making her fur quiver and her speed increase.

Perhaps snatching the child had not been the best plan she'd ever had.

A quick glance over her shoulder as she pounded over the terrain showed her they were easily gaining on her, hampered as she was by the child swinging from her mouth and the limp that destroyed the smooth easy motion of her run. She needed to escape and quickly.

She came to a standstill suddenly, as she reached the cliff edge, the land disappearing into air.

"Ooops," she muttered to herself. "Wrong way."

Taking the only route left to her she turned to her left, almost skidding as the ground suddenly dipped down into a long hill, a sleek shiny river slithering through at the bottom of the land.

A plan suddenly formed in her head and she raced for the water as the group closed in behind her.

Nearing the river that raced quick and high she leapt, muscles straining for the rocks that broke the surface of the river in the middle, icy water splashing the tops and slicking the rock. She shivered as the water lapped at her paws, and she paced in discomfort, trying to keep as many paws out of the water as possible. She leapt lightly onto the next rock beside her and then feeling the power in the back of her legs jumped for a rock high up in the middle of the river, where the water split round it but didn't touch the top.

She dropped the baby on the ground and then turned to look at the group, calculatingly.

The mammoth would never be able to cross safely, the water was too deep and too fast, and the sloth likewise had little chance of not being swept down stream. That only left the sabre-tooth and she doubted he would wish to enter the water, even if he could jump onto the rocks. There were few of her kind who could stand water, and she was one of the few who could just about stomach it, as long as she didn't have to be in it for long. Even if he did manage to make the jump onto the first rock, on the stone she was on now there was barely room for anyone else.

Halted by the river Diego, Manny and Sid came to a stop.

"What do we do now?" Said Manny anxiously.

"It's too deep to cross," said Sid, "and I can't swim."

"Diego?" said the mammoth; but the other tiger had backed away from the water with something like fear on his face.

"I can't go either."

"But she's got the baby," said Sid desperately. "We have to do something!"

"We need that baby back," agreed Diego.

Manny raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize you cared."

Ignoring the tension between the two of them Sid raised his hand. "Maybe we could reason with her."

"Reason with her? She's starving," said Diego flatly. "I'm surprised she hasn't eaten the kid already."

The sabre-tooth in the middle of the river watched the unfolding scene in bemusement, though the roar of the water withheld any of their conversation from her. She turned back to the baby at her feet. He had finished his melon and was now looking at her curiously.

"What on earth would possess such an unlikely group of creatures to all come together and care about a child? And a human child at that?" she murmured.

Bending her head down she sniffed at him, before licking his face where the dribble of melon juice was still sticky on his cheeks. The baby giggled and clapped his hands.

Well she had to admit it was a sweet little thing, but she was so hungry. What was it about this child that was so important to this group?

Which was when Sid dropped down onto the rock beside her.

She jumped and pinned the sloth to the ground. She sniffed him and then looked up at the thin tree branch that swung precariously above their heads. The tree branch that only a sloth could have managed to cling to.

She snorted in incredulity. "Well look at that, food's just falling out of the sky now."

"Don't eat me!" he cried, hands across his face in terror.

Manny and Diego watched the scene unfold in disbelief. "I give him five minutes."

"Two," said the mammoth. "If he's lucky."

The female tiger rolled her eyes. "So if you haven't come to offer yourself instead, what exactly are you doing here?"

Sid peered at her from between his fingers. "We really need the baby back."

"Why?" she asked curiously. "He's a human. They're not exactly known for being a sloth friendly bunch of people."

"We sort of promised his mother we'd take care of him and now we're returning him to his herd."

She snorted. "A human left her child in the care of a sloth, a mammoth and a sabre-tooth tiger?" She shook her head. "They're stupider than I thought."

"Well, Diego joined us later." Sid leaned closer to whisper. "Personally, I think he wants to eat us, but Manny hired him to lead us to the humans 'cos he can track."

"So you need the baby back to return him to his family, right?" she frowned darkly. "What if his family doesn't want him back? What if his mother gave him to you deliberately because she didn't want him?" She pinned him to the floor with her gaze. "Some creatures get left behind for a reason."

Sid tilted his head and looked at her; and his gaze was at once warm and understanding. "We have to try," he said.

She shook her head. "Well, I'll give you points for determination and bravery." She leaned in and sniffed him. "Though not for hygiene. You stink."

"Um, thanks?" said Sid.

She turned to look at the mammoth and the sabre-tooth who were watching anxiously from the riverbank.

"Alright," she said, her compassion winning over her hunger. "Have him back." She stepped off Sid's chest and gently pushed the baby over to him.

"Oh, thank you!" Said Sid enthusiastically, hugging the baby and then reaching out to hug her.

"Don't make me change my mind," she warned flatly.

"Ah, yeah…right." Sid rubbed the back of his head and scooped up the baby, who gurgled happily and pinched the sloth's nose. "And um, thanks for not eating us."

She rolled her eyes and turned to go. "I'm not planning on making it a habit." She rolled back on her hindquarters and made the jump to the next rock over. "See you sloth."

"Hey!" called Sid, looking up at the tree branch that dangled high over his head. It hadn't been a problem dropping down, but getting back up was not possible. "Um, I don't want to be a nuisance but I'm stuck."

The tiger turned from her rock and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, and what do you want me to do about it?"

"You can jump," pointed out Sid. "So can you take me back over there?" He pointed to his friends. "I'd be really grateful."

"And I'll be dead. Have you seen the tusks on your mammoth friend? I don't let them get that close."

"Please?" Said Sid. "Pretty, pretty please with a smilodon on top?"

"Alright, alright, stop moaning." She leapt back onto the rock with Sid and the baby. "Some rescuer you turned out to be. I'm surprised the kid's lasted as long as he has."

"Hey I'm a sloth. I see a tree, I climb it and jump. That's my rescuing."

"And it seems to have got you into more trouble," she replied, as she finished calculating the jump onto the next rock with the added weight. "Do you trust me?"

"Kinda?" said Sid warily.

"Close your eyes then," she advised, and grabbed both Sid and the baby in her jaws.

"No!" cried Diego and Manny at the same time.

But the tiger merely leapt from her position on the rock back up to the cliff rock, leaping nimbly from one stone to another before arriving back on the side of the riverbank with the mammoth and the tiger.

She released them gently from her teeth and smirked. "You can open your eyes now."

Sid blinked as Manny and Diego rushed over. Manny raised his trunk and she back away hastily, but Sid rushed between them.

"No, no, no! Stop. We couldn't get back so she brought us, she wasn't going to eat us, she's nice!" Sid babbled.

The sabre-tooth rolled her eyes. "There goes my reputation."

Manny slowly lowered his trunk but scooped the baby back over to him, popping him high up on his back.

"I suggest you guard your charge more carefully if you're going after the humans." She glanced over the group but her eyes fixed on Diego. "And tracker, you'd better get going or you'll never get there in time. They're relying on you."

She turned to Sid. "Look after the baby. I don't give up dinner just to have it eaten by someone else."

Sid nodded. "Thanks for the advice."

The tiger nodded and turned to go back across the river.

"By the way!" called Sid. "What is your name?"

"Nana." She hesitated and turned her head to look at the baby and then back at the group. "If…if the humans don't want him back then don't leave him, ok? Nobody wants to be left twice."

And then she was off across the river, lightly jumping from one rock to another until she was over, vanishing into the lush vegetation on the other side.

Manny raised an eyebrow and turned to Sid, before wrapping his trunk around his neck and squeezing. "That was for being an idiot and almost getting yourself eaten." He released his grip and then set him up high on his back with the baby. "And that's for rescuing Pinky here."

Sid took a lungful of air and rolled his eyes. "Gee, Manny, thanks for the appreciation but next time can you show it without trying to strangle me?"

"You pull a stunt like that again and I'll do worse than strangle you," said Manny evenly as they group began to walk off. "What were you thinking? What am I saying? Of course you weren't thinking!"

"Well, you guys weren't doing anything were you so someone had to. Besides, I think she really liked me," said Sid, cuddling the baby who was playing with Manny's fur. "She said I was brave and determined."

"She must have been crazy then."

"Actually, I think she was lonely," said Sid. "She got this look in her eyes when I said we were taking the baby back to his herd. Hey Diego, is it common for tigers to be alone?"

Diego frowned and looked back over his shoulder at the way Nana had gone. "No, it's not. Especially not female sabre-tooths."

"Do you think she was abandoned too?" asked Sid carelessly. "She has that really big scar on her, doesn't she? Maybe she was too sick and they left her behind."

"Sure sounds like something a tiger would do," goaded Manny. "I don't think they're known for their loyalty to each other."

Diego snarled but said nothing. Unfortunately, they were right.

"Guess it makes you glad that we've got each other than," said Sid.

Manny snorted. "I don't know, being alone has it's advantages."

"Like what?"

"Silence," snapped the mammoth.

For once, Sid took the hint.

It was evening when they finally made camp.

The mammoth settled himself next to a big boulder, picked up the baby and wrapping his trunk around the sleeping infant, started to relax. There was a sudden noise and Sid emerged from the bushes, returning from his food hunt.

"Oh, the triumphant return."

Sid looked confused for a few seconds before recognition dawned in his eyes. "Oh, that. Gosh. So full." He rubbed his stomach and leaned his back against a rock on the ground.

Manny smirked. Sid was such a bad liar. With one final suspicious look at Diego to check he actually was asleep, he drifted off into his own slumber.

Diego's eyes snapped open.

Now was his chance to take the human and be gone.

Please read and review!

You know what to do, just hit that little button and give me your thoughts :)