And suddenly she was still, head rolling back, the ghost of a smile forever on her face. Q felt like his insides had been shattered, leaving him numb but in excruciating pain. A scream forced it's way out of him before sobs made his body shake. He pulled Emerald's still warm body closer, resting his forehead against hers. She'd promised she'd come back. Alive. And she didn't. He could have continued on easier if she'd lied to him, if she'd claimed to have never cared. But not now, after her last words were ones of affection, meaning more than anything she'd ever said.

"You were my new reason to live."

Her weak voice echoed in his head over and over again, the look in her eyes not of pain or rage or fear, but of adoration. He stayed curled over Emerald's body until security found them and called the police. They came with black body bags, tearing Emerald away from him and stuffing her inside, not even bothering to shut her dull emerald eyes. Never again would he see the spark in them.

As he was driven to the police station, he went numb, the rest of the day and night passing in a blur. They questioned him and threw him in a cell until the security tapes were watched, revealing him innocent of everything but aiding a criminal. Him and Bond were required to show up in court a day before Emerald's funeral. They ended up being suspended of their duties for six months and fined two thousand pounds each. Nothing but a slap on the wrist.

Word of Emerald's endeavor went international. Some thought her a hero, some remembered her as nothing more than a rogue. M was replaced again, with a kinder man. He was strict but fair and didn't try anything shady. So far, he was clean. Many attended Emerald's funeral, including those from the agency and even her old family and friends. Once news had got out that she hadn't really been dead, they'd come to London right away. But now their daughter, sister, friend, really was dead and gone, being put in the ground again. Him and Bond stayed the longest, both of them not uttering a word. At last, Bond patted him on the shoulder and left.

Emerald's favorite flowers had been water lilys, so he'd searched all through London for a florist that sold them. At last he stepped forward onto her freshly dug grave and placed down the flowers. He knelt in front of her headstone, pulling out a knife. Emerald's headstone was pretty simple.

Emerald Anastasia Jones

July 7th, 1986 - March 28th, 2013

"Even heroes have the right to bleed."

The last line was a quote from one of her favorite songs, Superman by Five for Fighting. Underneath that line he started to carve something else, four words that meant nothing to anybody but him and Emerald. Once he was done he stood up, brushed the dirt off his knees, and placed a single kiss on her headstone. With that he turned and left, returning every year on the anniversary of her death.

Emerald Anastasia Jones

July 7th, 1986 - March 28th, 2013

"Even heroes have the right to bleed"

Someone's reason to live

The End