Author's note: For those who don't know, the old version of this story is simply called Goodbye. I wrote a story, then I rewrote a few things and I screwed it up so badly that I eventually got bored of it. Now I think it's time to do something with it, so here you go, I hope you'll enjoy it.

To quote the author's note I posted to the old version: "This time I'll write it for fun, trying not to overthink the plot. The whole story began with the one-shot revolving around Jim and Izzy's relationship, and the next chapter introduced Izzy's fangirl status when it came to Bones. This is what I'll work with. I'll jump in time whenever I have to and I really want to show you how Bones and Izzy's relationship evolved with time. So get ready for fluff. Seriously. I'll do that for fun."

(0) Goodbye

James T. Kirk had made some very serious decisions in the middle of the night: in a matter of hours, he would join Starfleet. By the time he arrived to the backyard of their house, hoping he wouldn't throw up on her mother's beloved flower bed like he'd done a few weeks earlier, it was already around four in the morning. This meant he only had four hours until departure. Four short hours to pack his most important things and say goodbye to his family. He was standing under one of the windows of their house, wondering if the girl living in that room was awake at this time or not. Sighing, he decided not to care and climbed up to the window, opening it without a problem.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" came a familiar voice from the bed as his feet landed on the floor with a heavy thud.

Jim only smirked at her reaction and turned on the lights, immediately regretting it since the bright light burned his eyes. The girl who was now sitting in her bed was only four years younger than him, with mid-length brown hair and light brown eyes. The lack of physical resemblance made it quite obvious for people outside the family and their circle of friends that they weren't genetically related, only stepsiblings thanks to the marriage of their parents. Even though Jim's dislike for his stepfather was not only well-known but mutual as well, Isabella had always been a person he considered to be a positive change in their lives. On the bright side she, much like his mother, didn't consider him a troublemaker. Well, at least they both assumed he was a bit more than that.

"God damn it, Tiberius, how many times do I have to tell you to use the door?" she asked angrily, trying to keep her voice down so they wouldn't wake up their parents. It'd happened once and the consequences weren't exactly pleasant.

"And how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me Tiberius?" Jim asked with a shrug before sitting on the edge of her bed. "You have to help me, doc," he said with a grin, pointing at his wounded face. He had washed off most of the blood before leaving the bar but he had a feeling it didn't help much.

"I'm not a doctor yet," Izzy noted quietly, letting out a tired sigh as she took a closer look at the injuries. "You're gonna be fine; I only have to clean the wounds and you're free to go." After flashing a reassuring smile at him she stood up and disappeared in the bathroom for a while. "Feel like telling me what happened to you this time?" she asked once she returned and sat down next to him with her first aid kit.

Jim let out a quiet groan as he buried his face in his palms. As it turned out, it wasn't the smartest idea because he accidentally touched one of the wounds and it hurt like hell. "I got into a little fight with a few Starfleet recruits in a bar," he explained calmly while his sister started to wash off the remaining blood from his face.

"Why I'm not surprised," the brunette remarked sarcastically, grabbing the antiseptic. "Okay, I know you've already heard that from me before, but it's going to sting."

He barely winced as she cleaned the wounds. They had been through this so many times over the years that his body sort of got used to the pain this process caused. That was obviously a fair price to pay for stupidity. What he had to decide now was how and when to tell her about the decision he had made not long ago. Moving to San Francisco didn't only affect his mother but Izzy as well. Maybe it was just like removing a band aid: the faster you tear it down, the less it hurts. "I'll join Starfleet in the morning," he suddenly announced, his eyes locked on his shoes.

The girl's eyes grew wide in surprise and from shock. "You will what?"

He laughed quietly, already thinking about how his mother will react. "That's right. I talked to Captain Pike after that fight and… I don't know. He believes in me and said I can be a captain and have my own ship in eight years," he told her. "He also talked about my father. About the twelve minutes he'd spent as the captain of the USS Kelvin and how he'd saved 800 people - including me," he added, much quieter this time.

"Hey, I'm sure your father would be proud of you," Izzy told him with a small smile, reassuringly putting her hand on his. But Jim knew it was only an act because behind that smile he saw her sadness. It's not like he wouldn't miss her, too. "And Winona will be proud as well," she spoke up again. "By the way, when will you tell her?"

"In the morning, shortly before I leave."

"You're just kidding, right?" Izzy asked angrily, punching his arm as hard as she could. "She deserves more than a few minutes in the morning. You'll be gone for years," she pointed out firmly, jumping off the bed. "I'll wake her up and send her to the living room."

Jim took a deep breath and stood up as well, clearing his throat to make her stop before she opened the door. "What about your father?" he asked.

"Don't worry about him. This move of yours will shut him up for a while," the girl said with a smile. "Zip up your jacket," she added, pointing at his shirt. "Winona would be freaked out if she saw your bloody shirt."

Jim looked down at her with a smile, pulling up the zipper just like she'd told him. On his way home from the bar, when he'd made up his mind about the whole thing, he didn't think saying goodbye would be so hard. Really, what would he do if he got into another fight? Was he supposed to see a normal doctor or should he learn how to stich himself up in the next few hours? "I'll miss you, Izzy," he admitted after a while, breaking the comfortable silence that'd fallen between them.

"I'll miss you, too, James. You're gonna be a great captain one day," she said before hugging him tightly. "Try not to get into trouble," she added with a small chuckle.

"I can't promise anything," Jim said as he let go of her. "You know, you should join Starfleet as a doctor," he said, but left the room before she could even answer.

Downstairs the conversation with his mother and stepfather went surprisingly smoothly. Though his mother-just as he'd expected-cried upon hearing the news, she also told him through her tears how happy she was that he made this decision. This, of course, surprised Jim. Part of him thought she would be against it, mostly due to what'd happened to his father when he was born. But she was happy, and that day this was the most important thing for him. Knowing she was supporting him wholeheartedly made it a lot easier to aboard the shuttle in the morning.

Screw Starfleet: he'll get his own ship sooner than eight years to make his mother proud.