AN: I originally posted this as a one shot in my I did get one thing right series, but decided to expand on it. There is now five parts to Resignation. The story itself is complete, so the chapters will be posted regularly.

The premise is an AU of Casino Royale where M and James are already in an established relationship when she receives James' resignation email.

To those who have read and reviewed this chapter before, thank you. To new readers, I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1 - The Email

...

M re-read the email James had sent her for the fifth time hardly believing he had turned in his resignation. He had left MI6, left her. She should have known it was all too good to last. Give him a younger woman and he was like a moth to a flame. She was angry and hurt, he promised he would not hurt her, yet he did exactly that. She cursed herself for letting him get close to her heart. He had all but ripped it from her chest and trampled on it.

Slamming the laptop screen down, she called Ross and asked him to have the car ready. It came out harsher than she intended, but she couldn't care less, she was in no mood for pleasantries. Replacing the phone, she rose from her chair and grabbed her bag and coat before marching from her office. What hurt more than anything was he didn't even have the decency to phone and tell her himself, heck he hadn't even told her he was in a relationship with someone he had known in less than a month. The fact of the matter was, she should have seen it coming a mile off, but she doubted it would have lessened the blow.

Making her way out of the building, she gave Ross a slight nod as be held the car door open for her. The slam of the car door closing behind her mirrored what her own heart was feeling at the moment. She felt suffocated despite the open space that was in front of her. Their relationship didn't get off to a great start, they were always at each other throats, be it work related or personal. Over the months, they had adapted and became close. He was always tender and loving. She thought they were in their relationship for the long haul, but now she realised it was a foolish sentiment on her part. He hadn't changed despite the way he acted when they were together at his or her apartment. She felt betrayed and in a weird way she had been.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn't realised the car had stopped outside her apartment until she felt the slight breeze pass through her due to the car door being reopened.

"Are you feeling all right, ma'am?"

She turned her attention to the voice and noticed the worry on Ross' face.

"I'm fine Ross, just thinking over a few things that I need to deal with." She partly lied making her way from the car.

Ross gave her a sceptical look. He had been her driver for six years. He knew her comings and goings even if she thought he didn't. The relationship she had with Bond he could tell it went above that of boss and agent, he would bet his life that it was Bond that had done something to make her feel the way she was now. No doubt they would be hearing about it soon enough.

With her bag in hand, she made her way from the car muttering goodnight to Ross and made her way to the entrance of her apartment. Ross watched her go, a thoughtful look on his face and gave a sigh 'What have you gone and done now Bond? '

Pressing the button on the elevator, she tapped her foot impatiently while she waited. When the doors finally opened she stepped in and pressed the button to take her to the penthouse. She lets out a sigh of relief, only for it to be short lived, when she remembered that some of James' things were still there. She closed her eyes in frustration. The bastard wasn't even here and he was still taunting her.

Stepping into her apartment once the lift doors had opened, she turned to her left and flicked on the light switch. The room was cast in a soft glow with no sign of James. The thought caused another pang of hurt to cut through her. Dropping her bag and coat on the chair, she made her way over to the drink cabinet and poured herself a double bourbon drinking most of it in one swallow.

The silence was broken by the sound of her house phone ringing. She gave it a look of hatred already having an idea of who it was. If he thought she was going to give in to his every whim he could think again. Ignoring it, she turned and made her way to her bedroom, refusing to call it theirs. He had lost that privilege when he made the decision to leave her. She would let the voicemail take care of any excuses he had, she was in no mood to deal with him tonight or any days forthcoming for the foreseeable future.

"M. I know I'm the last person you want to hear from, but please hear me out."

She stopped in her tracks at hearing the desperation in his voice.

"I don't have long before Vesper comes back. I need you to do a background check on her. There's something not right about this whole scenario."

She gave a scoff at his remark. Nothing ever went right when James was involved.

"No doubt you received my resignation. I'm not being doing this to hurt you M, that's the last thing I want. My resignation is a cover, I need to get close to Vesper to see what she knows, and my instincts are telling me there is something bigger here than Le Chiffre."

M turned, her eyes narrowed at the answering machine wondering where he was going with this.

"Until I find out what that is, I'm going to have to play this charade a while longer. Send me whatever information you can find. The quicker the better. I hope you can forgive me."

Thinking he had said all he had to say she was on the verge of making her way to her bedroom to once again be frozen on the spot when his next words filled the room.

"You probably don't want to hear this, but you need to know. I love you M. I always have. Even if things can't go back to the way they were, I will never stop loving you."

The faint sound of a door opening told her that Vesper had returned.

"I have to go."

M closed her eyes when his voice was replaced by a beep signalling the end of the conversation.

She doubted things could ever go back to the way they were. A few I love you's wouldn't change that, no matter how much she wanted them to. Be that as it may she still had her job to do. His instincts had never been wrong. Then again it could be just another excuse realising the mistake he made.

She placed her glass on the bedside table and sat down on the bed. Reaching out her hand, she ran her hand over the silver silk duvet as she recalled every memory and moment she and James had shared.

M did not know would happen if she found anything discrediting Vesper. Would he stay with her or would he even come back to the service?

He always had to complicate matters, leaving her to pick up the pieces in the process. She knew she wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight. She would do what he had asked, but whether she could trust him was a different matter. He must have some feelings for Miss Lynd. Otherwise, he would have brought her straight in for questioning instead of using this charade. Hopefully, she would find out more information tomorrow, but until then she just wanted to forget all about James Bond.