"James," said M, softly.

"Yes," his tone was equally soft.

"Come and sit down."

He sat down on the recently vacated sofa. M hesitated before taking both his hands in hers. Bond was surprised. She'd never been one to outwardly display affection like this. He looked down at their entwined hands and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"You do always make such a fuss over these things," said M.

Bond smiled fondly at her. "That's the M I love. Now, what am I gonna do without you?"

"You know how to go on, Bond. And you will go on. I have invested far too much time and effort into you for you to just give up."

"Why did you? Why me?"

Bond had always known that he was M's favorite agent. He got away with things that would have most agents fired or killed. She'd backed him time and time again. He'd never questioned why before. He had simply enjoyed the freedom that her favoritism had allowed him. He enjoyed knowing that whatever he'd gotten himself into, she would be there to get him out.

M sighed before answering him. "I suppose that I've always seen a little of myself in you. I could see from the start how much potential you had, how great you could be."

"I'm not sure if you're complimenting me or yourself."

They both laughed.

"Well, I was right in trusting you. I'm…I'm proud of you, James."

Deep down it didn't shock him that she was proud of him. Part of him knew that she was, but hearing her say it so plainly did take him of guard. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Perhaps, I made some mistakes. Giving up Silva like I did. I knew he trusted me with everything he had. I suppose I did betray that trust."

Admitting to any wrongdoing was also rare for M. At Skyfall, at her lowest, she had told him how much she'd screwed everything up. It was odd for him, having her confide in him as if she were only human.

"The choices you made, you always made trying to give the best possible outcome to the most amount of people. You never wavered on that. I do understand that. People are going to get hurt. Your job was to keep the casualty list as small as possible. And you did that better than most could."

M looked appreciative of his words. She squeezed his hands more tightly. The sensation grounded him and suddenly he didn't think he'd ever be ready to let go.

"I wouldn't be who I am today if you hadn't have been you," he finished, roughly.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you consider that a good thing or a bad thing?"

He shook his head, "I consider that…a necessary thing. I'm still alive because of you. Rogue sniper shots aside, that is."

She bowed her head and laughed again, only this time, Bond swore he heard her sob too.

"Are you all right," he asked her.

She shook her head, still not lifting her gaze.

He removed one of his hands from her and brought it to her chin.

"M," he whispered. Finally, she looked at him, eyes bright with tears that mirrored his own. "Forgive me," he finished.

"How can I when there's nothing to forgive? Hmm? Forgive yourself James. I may have done a very selfish thing in molding you the way I did. But, even so, I can't regret the agent you've become."

"Because regret is unprofessional," he reminded her.

"I've taught you well."

"That you have."

M took a deep breath and stood up, "for Queen and Country?"

He stood up to meet her and nodded, "for Queen and Country."

She reached out to shake his hand. He pulled her into an embrace instead. He held her like his life depended on it. The small act of comfort made him feel better than he had since before Turkey. He was grateful when her arms snaked around him. They stood like that for a few moments, silently taking each other in. It was as if Bond was trying to memorize the feel of her, knowing that he'd never see her again.

It was M who pulled away with some regret, "come now. Let's not be too dramatic, shall we?"

Bond nodded and let her go.

"You remember everything I taught you and you'll be fine. Just try not to embarrass the department too much."

Bond straightened up and smiled, "yes ma'am."

"Good man. Goodbye James."

Bond suppressed a shudder. This was it. "Goodbye M."

He blinked and she was gone. He was alone, as he always had been. He let a few tears fall and then wiped his eyes. It would be okay. She had been proud of him. He was her legacy and he'd be damned if he'd let her down.

With renewed purpose, he reached for the telephone and dialed Moneypenny.

The end

Author's Note: I kind of rushed the last chapter out because I'm gonna be too busy to write this week and I didn't want to leave people hanging. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and followed this story. I hope the last chapter was satisfying.