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"-ya? Diya? Oh, there you are."
"'m awake, 'm awake," Diya mumbles, rubbing her eyes and pushing herself off the wall.
"Are you alright?" Noelle asks, placing a hand on Diya's forehead and pressing her fingers around the bottom of Diya's jaw. "Nevermind, don't answer that. Here, put this under your tongue."
After putting the thermometer in her mouth, Noelle begins to run her hands through Diya's hair, pressing her fingers against Diya's scalp in various places. Diya leans into the touch, mumbling, "you're gonna be such a good doctor."
This makes Noelle's hands pause. "Hush. Let the thermometer work."
After removing her hands from Diya's hair, she turns Diya's head from side to side, then peels one eyelid up to shine a penlight in Diya's eye. Diya starts and jerks her head backwards, letting out a noise of surprise. The thermometer beeps, and Noelle plucks it out of Diya's mouth.
"Hmm. No temperature. Pupillary response is fine. Did you hit your head today? Any strange gaps in your memory? Any pain?"
Diya shakes her head. "Just tired."
Noelle's face softens. "Go lie down then. I'll take care of this." Noelle gestures at the still-running washing machine next to them, which Diya had completely forgotten about until that moment.
"Okay." Diya can feel her mouth stretching into a smile. "Thanks."
As Diya leaves the laundry room, she stops and gently bonks Noelle's shoulder with her own forehead, in a practiced gesture of affection which Noelle had once described laughingly as "catlike".
Diya lies down on the couch, and almost immediately conks out.
Diya wakes slowly to flickering lights - the television, casting its light into the darkness around her. There's a blanket over her that wasn't there she fell asleep.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" Noelle whispers from next to her. Diya shakes her head, worming her way up the couch to put her head in Noelle's lap. Noelle's hands tangle themselves in Diya's hair almost instantly, and Diya sighs contentedly. Sleep takes her quickly.