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Nikola wanted a cuddle. Or at least a hug, but a cuddle would be better. It wasn't often he really felt the need for that kind of human contact, but when he did, he really, really did. It didn't help that Helen's Sanctuary was depressingly scant on people at present. Not entirely empty, though. He supposed he could go and visit Sally, though that would only be talking, since he really didn't want to go swimming. Still, better than stalking the corridors, all disgruntled.
He was just about to go downstairs (either to the wine cellar or to the mermaid's tank, he wasn't sure which) when he passed the open door to the media room. Kate was there with a bowl of popcorn, just settling into a corner of the couch. She looked up as Nikola stopped in the doorway, her quick grin fading into a thoughtfulness he couldn't quite parse.
"Hey, you," she said, a surprising amount of warmth in her voice, "Want to watch 'Farscape' with me?"
Nikola found himself going in and sitting down next to her. She pulled him closer until they were as near to cuddling as made no difference, a friendly, comforting warmth. Not a thing he would have expected of Kate, but somehow not at all startling once she'd done it, either.
Kate handed him the popcorn and leaned her head on his shoulder. "They'll all come home safe, you know. They always do. Nothing we can do about it from this end right now." She clicked the remote, and the show came up on the screen.
Since when was Kate telepathic? Or had she always been able to read him that well? Nikola decided it really didn't matter, and just relaxed into the companionable comfort. This was precisely what he was wanting.