"Identity; The collective aspect of the set of characteristics by which a thing is definitively recognizable or known."

Simon looked up from the journal he was writing in as he heard River's voice break the silence. She was sitting up on the bed in the infirmary, her head tilted to the left in a slight angle, her brown eyes seemingly looking past him. She'd gotten his attention, of course, with her random outburst, partly because the last time he had looked back at her she was sleeping soundly.

"What are you talking about, River?" Her brother asked quietly, his eyes narrowing in the slightest.

"Maybe," She shook her head as she spoke the next words, her eyes finally looking at him instead of through him. "I'm not River at all." She seemed so confident as she said the words.

"Meimei," Simon sighed as he walked over to where she was. "You are River." He nodded his head and she raised a quizzical eyebrow. Simon strained not to smile as she studied him so seriously.

"It's a possibility. But," River began slowly, as if she were talking to a child. "Is the set of behavioral or personal characteristics by which an individual is recognizable as a member of a group stable enough for me to be River?" She bit her lip and sat up straighter, actually pondering her own question. The blank look on Simon's face made her even more unsure of who she was.

"The question isn't what am I, but who am I?" She surmised quickly, tears filling her eyes quickly, unexpectedly. "Who am I?" She repeated, looking away from her brother, a single tear slipping down her cheek and she ran a hand through her dark hair, brushing it back from her face, more tears spilling from her eyes, but she cried silently.

Simon reached his hand up to her face, wiping the tears away with his thumb. "You're River. You're my Meimei."

River managed a small smile and Simon also did as her crying came to a stop.

"For now, I guess that will have to do." River said solemnly as she laid back down on the bed.