Author's Note: Isara is back, you guys! If you haven't read "Isara Jones: Starfleet's Official Hugger," please do so before reading this.

Anyway, I just have way too much fun writing this character to let her go so soon.

This story will be the account of what happens to Isara and her friends over the summer. If that doesn't interest you, the next story will be about their adventures back aboard the Enterprise, so just hold tight!

As always, please R&R. I'm always open to plot requests.

Summary: The second installment in my Isara Jones series. The crew of the USS Enterprise has been through a lot, and the reappearance of an old ex is the last straw for Isara. She and her friends are off to make the most of summer- but how will a road trip with Kirk, Alanna and Bones turn out? Might Spock and Uhura come along at Kirk's urging? Hopefully, the group of colleagues will learn some valuable information about themselves and each other, and come back prepared to face their futures.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek in any way, shape, or form. I don't even have a part share. :-(

Chapter 1: The Gang's Back Together

Isara's POV

The club was pretty rowdy by my standards, but Kirk and Alanna were obviously having a good time. Alanna was in her trademark fuscia, this time manifesting itself in her cropped tank top and Converse sneakers. Her faded denim shorts were nearly invisible what with the throbbing mass of dancers and the dizzying way that she was twirling around. Kirk, in his plain white t-shirt, kept trying to get close enough to her to dance, but she would twist away with a flirtatious hair flip and make it look like she hadn't even noticed him. I had to admire how finely she had honed her teasing skills.

I leaned against the wall, which pulsed against my back with the intensity of the music. It was a popular new dance song- "The Growl"- and all the clubs were playing it. I allowed my head to nod slightly in time with the beat, though it wasn't really my kind of music. One time I took a 20th century art history class, and I did a report on jazz and swing from the 1920s through the 1940s. From the first strains of Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller, I had been hooked. I missed the sounds of real instruments played by real people, and voices that hadn't been synthesized and adjusted until they were robotic.

I was jolted out of my reverie by Bones touching my shoulder and gesturing towards the dance floor, one eyebrow raised. I smiled and nodded. I was finally out of my uniform for a while, and had dressed specifically for dancing- jeans and flats would be comfortable, and a sequined blue top wasn't too revealing but would sparkle nicely under the lights.

Bones obviously didn't know how to dance to this kind of music any more than I did- he looked confused for a moment, then started bobbing up and down by bending and straightening his knees in time to the music, hands in his pockets. I laughed and shook my head. I grabbed his arm and pulled him through the crowd, heading for where I had last seen Kirk and Alanna.

Alanna squealed and waved at us, grabbing Kirk in a similar manner and dragging him over. She immediately saw our dilemma and illustrated how to dance to the club music, bouncing and jumping around, waving her arms and twisting her hips. I thought that I imitated her fairly well, but Bones was failing miserably. Alanna laughed at him and gestured to Kirk, who was doing similar dance moves but in a more "manly" fashion. After a few tries, the four of us were dancing in tight group and grinning away at each other like the slightly insane people that we were. I sighed happily, the sound masked by the thumping bass of the nearby speakers. It was great to have everyone together again.

Alanna's POV

Isara and Bones were so sweet together, she reflected as she watched them from the dance floor. They were leaning up against the wall together watching the floor, and they probably didn't even realize that their shoulders were pressed together and their fingers just inches away from being intertwined. Alanna herself was fine with the boyfriend-in-every-port approach, but it was refreshing to see the kind of young love that classical poets had taken the time to document.

Oh God, she was going to turn into a hopeless romantic like Isara. She chuckled lightly to herself, noticing Kirk trying to surreptitiously edge through the crowd to dance next to her again. That kid was going to be fun, she thought as she flung herself into a spin with a masterful hip jerk. She was looking forward to this summer, spending time with her friends on shore leave. It might be enough to take the edge off of the loneliness when she was back on the USS Bradbury by herself.

Kirk's POV

Okay, she had to be doing that on purpose. He scowled as Alanna once again spun innocently away, leaving him wedged between two sweaty underclassmen. He glanced over at Bones, who seemed to be having a much easier time with Isara. They were casually leaned together, apparently content to observe the dancing, while Bones looked like he was trying to work up the courage to hold her hand. For Pete's sake, those two had been together since the thing on the Enterprise, and that must have been a couple of weeks ago! He would have to talk with Bones.

For now, he was intent on getting over to dance with Alanna. He had barely given her any attention when he had first met her- after all, he had been occupied by a screaming Isara and a derisive Bones. But since he had tagged along with Bones and Isara and met her officially, he couldn't deny that that girl was pretty amazing. She was beautiful, funny, sociable, and was incredibly good at playing hard-to-get. Kirk wondered if she might be the first girl that he would fail to get after he set his mind to it. Ah well, he shrugged to himself. He could have fun trying.

Bones's POV

Just a couple more inches... his hand twitched imperceptibly closer to Isara's. Then a little closer. Then yet a little closer. When he had closed the distance down to two inches, Isara shifted her hand slightly and made the gap more like five inches again. Bones ground his teeth together, wondering if the movement had been intentional. Maybe he should stop trying to grab her hand. But surely, if that was the message she was trying to send, she would have made the rejection more obvious? And she hadn't minded holding hands earlier. Maybe this was more of a public place? Or maybe she was totally unaware of his intentions.

Bones's jaw began to ache from clenching his teeth, and he could feel the sweat sticking his shirt to the back of his neck. He consciously took a few deep breaths and then started his hand's journey over again. Had he always been this awkward around women? He didn't think so. He specifically remembered being smooth and confident when wooing his ex-wife. A bitter taste tinged the back of his tongue as he thought of her, and he didn't realize when his hand began to tremble slightly.

Speaking of his past experiences with women, maybe he should call off this whole thing with Isara before he got too involved. Just contemplating the possibility of Isara treating him the way that his ex had made a dart of nausea shoot through the bottom of his stomach. He didn't think that his old heart would be able to mend should it break again.

Then Isara turned to him, her face radiant and all of her teeth showing in a gorgeous smile. The nausea was replaced with an airy bubble of happiness, the bitter taste with a responding smile. He hadn't really realized that he had brushed her shoulder, but he decided to take advantage of the situation and gesture to the dance floor. She nodded and led the way.

Bones smiled softly to himself as he watched Isara turn around and wait for him. The fact was that he had been broken when he came to Starfleet. He had been a mess, and his friends had pulled him through it. Kirk had been his first friend, but Isara was the one who had mended him. Here he was, dating a wonderful girl, and he was even brave enough to take her out with both of their friends and get really emotionally invested. If that didn't mean that his heart was on its way to healing, he didn't know what did. What he did know was that Isara was the best thing that had happened to him in a long time, and he wasn't going to let his stupid anxieties get in the way of that.

Isara's POV

After a while we all got tired, so Bones, Alanna and I parked ourselves at a table off to one side while Kirk grabbed drinks. I fanned myself halfheartedly with my hand, my shoulder slumped up against my chair. Bones gave me a concerned look and I smiled happily at him. It had been a very long time since I had been out dancing.

I scanned the crowd of people all around us, wondering where Kirk had wandered off to and what poor girl was being aggressively flirted with. My eyes fell on a very specific face and widened in alarm. I ducked under the table, much to Bones's surprise, and stayed hunched down by Alanna's feet.

"Isara? What is it?" Her worried voice wafted down to me.

"Be quiet!" I hissed. "It's Jimmy!"