It should be a standing rule on Atlantis, that Rodney McKay not be allowed near attractive women with large breasts. Sam Carter and Melana of Tarani could have testified that no matter how suave, sophisticated or handsome he thinks he is, he isn't. As evidenced by the fact that he is currently in Carson Beckett's infirmary. With a black eye. And a bruised shin. The black eye is courtesy of Cordelia Harris-Chase. The bruised shin is courtesy of her son, protecting his mother's honor, you could say.

John Sheppard would have liked to winch in sympathy for his friend, but he too thought Rodney should just keep his mouth shut around women.

Leaving Rodney in the annoyed on behalf of all women, Nurse Cho's hands, Carson pulled the Harris-Chases into his office.

"I apologize on behalf of all of us for Rodney. No one has been able to figure out why he actually thinks woman like him when he's like that." Carson said.

"He better watch his mouth, Cordelia's been known to kick between the uprights when seriously pissed." Xander said.

"I'm sure Elizabeth will deal with him, Mr. Harris-Chase. Now let's discuss your physical condition, shall we?"

"You can call me Xander, everyone does. First off, you should be aware that all three of us have heightened senses. Sight, hearing and smell. We can scent emotional and physical health of the people around us. My night vision is also significantly better than average. I can lift at above Olympic athlete level and hold my breathe underwater for more than fifteen minutes. As well as handle pressure depth at lower levels then most. I'm a pyromancer, which means, I can set things on fire with my mind and I'm clairvoyant. We've been tested. How we're able to do what we do isn't known by science but is demonstrable. Cordelia can get visions of future events, usually no more then twenty to thirty minutes beforehand. Jesse hasn't manifested any such abilities."

"We encountered a Pegasus native who could also see future events, although his ability could stretch for a few days. Stargate Command has encountered humans capable of telepathy and telekinesis, so your abilities are not nearly as incredulous as they would have been thought even a decade ago. Perhaps you will allow us to scan you with Atlantis' technology to see if any information can be gained?" Carson asked.

"Since we came here to help you guys figure out Ancient technology, I guess it couldn't hurt, but we refuse all blood draws or tissue sampling. Call it religious grounds if you want to. Even in an emergency. Also we require three days each month to go to the mainland, alone. What we do there is our concern. We will only take food and water, as well as sleeping bags and blankets with us. A communicator in case of emergency, as well."

"You'll need to talk to Elizabeth about that, but I'm sure it shouldn't be an issue. Shall we do the scans now?"

Xander looked at Cordelia as they did that thing that many long term couples are capable of doing, all but reading each other's minds. After a moment, Xander said. "Go ahead, you can start with me."

Later, Carson reported on the findings to Elizabeth.

"First off, both of the adults have a great deal of activity in their brains, more than normal. Cordelia has a larger than average perception area of her brain and Xander has a structure I can't identify. It's definitely not a tumor. I had him demonstrate his pyromancer ability and it lit up. A piece of paper he was looking at, caught fire at the same time. He also has a slightly larger than average perception area of his brain. As for his body, he has denser muscles and thicker bones. His lungs are larger as well. Whatever that coach's intentions, Xander has gained significant physical changes as a result. The psychic abilities are separate. His grandmother also had abilities and Cordelia's grandfather did as well."

"Interesting, but nothing to worry about?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, they're all in excellent health." Carson told her.

"Good. Thank you, Carson."

Later, when they presented Elizabeth with a schedule of the three days off each month that they wanted, she approved it, seeing no problems with it.

Ronan invited Xander to spar with him, something that once would have intimidated Xander but now, after years of sparring with Faith, was something he looked forward to. He and Ronan had a grand time beating each other up, as Cordelia put it, when he arrived back at their assigned quarters. The sparring match also put Ronan in a good mood as he later told Sheppard about it.

"He's not as strong as Teal'C or as well trained, but he's stronger than me and I'm willing to do some training with him while he's here. He's got potential."

"You don't say that about many of the people that come though here. He must have impressed you."

"He did. He rarely even winched. He can take a pounding and keep going."

Perhaps someone should have taken a moment and had a conversation with Jesse, he who loves to prank people. But it seems not to have crossed anyone's mind that such a conversation might have been a good idea. Well not until after he pranked Rodney several times, that is.

"Rodney, what happened to your hair?" Sheppard asked, staring at his friend.

"Someone seems to have broken into my quarters and put die in my showerhead. I don't know how long it'll be like this."

"It's purple."

"I noticed. Who knows what weird chemicals I've been exposed to."

"Do you know who did it?"

"No. The scanner and recording devices don't show anyone around my quarters at all. Whoever it is managed to bypass several security features."

"That's a problem, Rodney. If they can get in to play pranks, they can do other things."

"I know. I put alerts in place. If someone tries bypassing the systems again I'll know."

"I hope so. I'll let Elizabeth know."

It would remain a mystery for awhile though.