If River could hear thoughts, still, she would be a little insulted by some of Wash's. She had not been the broken little girl he remembered for a long time. And even then... she was not as broken as everyone thought.
When Wash peered out from behind the curtain, River's eyes grew very wide, and she took two inadvertant steps backward. The last time she'd seen Wash... it'd been years. It'd been here in the city, but it had been quite some time.
Before she'd fought off zombies with Dr. Jones. And before she became one. Before she'd killed a woman. Before a lot of things.
This was like meeting Dean all over again. She'd met him a few times now, too. And he was different every time.
Still, Dean wasn't Wash.
Dean wasn't family.
Tears sprung up in her eyes and River smiled, just a little, before throwing herself on Wash in a less-than-graceful hug.