To Not Yield

A/N: My usual disclaimers: all copyrights go to those who rightfully own them.

I've always liked Tracy Draco Bond and Skyfall and have always wondered (since this is the 50th anniversary of the Bond films coming out) why they didn't include her in the new movies coming out (even though I do like the Vesper/Bond pairing). That and while we get small references to M's background, I've always wondered about her family and home life. So this was created.

Oh and I reimagined Tracy's background a little bit in order to fit with the story. Other than that, she's still a young woman has seen more than her fair share of tragedy and has developed an icy skin to protect her broken heart from getting shattered again.

Enjoy and destroy.

007 Reporting for Duty

I watched Grandmother out of the corner of my eye as we were driven home from the memorial service for the six agents killed in the recent explosion of MI6. She held herself up high, staunch and dignified, every inch a lady. We didn't speak to each other. I sensed that she wanted to be left with her thoughts, so I said nothing to her.

This wasn't unusual for her. After all, she was known as the Queen of Numbers. Grandmother was the staunch and icy head of MI6, it's said that blood as cold as her blue eyes pumped through her veins. Sadly, her coldness bled into her family life.

No matter what I did, I felt that I could never live up to her expectations. Neither could Mom, as she more or less eloped with Dad over Grandmother's stern objections to the match. After all, Dad was head of the U.S.A. Draco Crime Syndicate. Mom told me bitterly that Grandmother was against the match because of the blight on the family name rather than any real fear for her daughter's safety.

They never spoke again. I never once saw Grandmother shed a tear after Mom and Dad were killed in a vicious car accident when I was fifteen. It was shortly afterwards I went to live with Grandmother and Grandpa in England. When he died a few years later, Grandmother shipped me off to university.

Sometimes, I wondered if the real reason Grandmother took me in was because Grandpa insisted. I never understood how she put up with him. He was a jolly old soul with a deep laugh and a shimmer in his dark brown eyes.

We got out and walked into our penthouse flat. By this point, the silence was becoming unbearable. "Do you want me to get you something to eat?" I finally asked as I hung up our coats in the hallway closet.

"No, thank you, Teresa." She said in a low voice. That was the other thing we could never agree with. She called me by my real name, the only one who ever did. "It's late, get some sleep."

I nodded, she wanted to be alone again. "Good night then, Grandmother." I left her as she began preparing herself a drink. As I was about to enter my dark bedroom, a strange shiver ran up my back. Seeing the windows open and the curtains fluttering confirmed my fears.

We weren't alone. Somebody else was in the penthouse, more specifically my bedroom.

My senses became as heightened as a cat's. Reaching for the wall relief where I had Dad's Smith and Wesson hidden for just such an occasion, I listened for any sudden noises. Something moved closer to me. A shadow of a man. Now! But before I could grab the gun, somebody grabbed my wrists and held them up. My scream froze in my throat as the hallway light illuminated the intruder's face.

He was about my height, a few inches taller than me at most. Tanned skin and a well built frame. Dirty rumpled clothing. Short blonde hair. Light blue eyes. He was looking at me curiously, as if wondering who I was. As for me, I was too surprised to fight back. There was something...different...about him. I also realized that he wasn't here to harm my grandmother and myself. Because he would've no doubt killed me if he did have that intention.

The lights flicked on, blinding me. Grandmother had come up behind me, holding a glass of scotch in her hands. She looked at him disapproving and yet relieved. "Where the hell have you been?"

The man let me go and held himself up with a military poise. "Enjoying death. 007 reporting for duty." This was one of my Grandmother's agents...I remembered overhearing that one had recently been killed while on duty in Istanbul.

"You should've called." She said, clearly not impressed.

"You didn't get the postcard?" 007 asked, a hint of a smile on his face. I bit back a giggle. It was nice to see somebody other than me give a snarky comeback to Grandmother. Most people are too scared of her to say anything other than Yes Ma'am or No Ma'am. "So this is it. We're both played out."

"Well, then if you believe that, why did you come back?" Grandmother asked, ignoring the comeback.

"Good question." 007 said.

"Because we're under attack and you know we need you." Grandmother said without batting an eyelash.

"Well, here I am." 007 nodded.

"You'll have to be debriefed and declared fit for active service. You can only return to duty when you've passed the tests, so take them seriously. And a shower might be in order." Grandmother sniffed in disapproval.

"I'll go home and change." He moved to leave.

"Oh, we've sold your flat, put your things into storage. Standard procedure for the death of an unmarried employee who has no next of kin."

"I'll find a hotel." 007 mumbled.

"Well you're not bloody sleeping here." Grandmother muttered.

"I know somewhere you can stay." I said. 007 and Grandmother looked at me. "A friend of mine, Mary Gloria, is an intern at the Fleming. She owes me a favor." I retorted before Grandmother could say anything back.

"That's fine by me." 007 said.

"Come with me. She'll never believe you otherwise." I said, picking up my car keys from the nightstand and sending a quick text to Mary, alerting her to her guest. Secretly, I wanted to know a little more about this man. There was something fascinating about 007.

We were about to walk out of the flat when Grandmother called out. "Oh, and 007?" 007 and I looked back. "If you lay so much as one finger on my granddaughter, I will personally use you for target practice." Grandmother said without blinking.

"Point taken." 007 mumbled as we headed to the downstairs garage where my silver Aston Martin was waiting. "Beautiful car." He said as I unlocked it and we got in. "Sweet sixteen present?"

"More like 'Congrats on getting into university. Now go off and don't get yourself killed'" I said, pressing the garage lid button and we drove out onto the busy streets of London. We were silent for a while. "You were declared dead?" I asked.

"Yes, a mission that got out of hand." 007 nodded, his curt tone confirmed that he didn't want to discuss the matter further. "What do you know about the situation at hand?" He asked.

"Not much, I'm afraid." I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Not that she'd ever tell me anything. You of all people should know that." We stopped at a light. "Why did you have to break into our flat?"

"You said it yourself, I had been declared dead. Not exactly convenient for a dead person to waltz into MI6. That is if there was anything left for me to walk into." We stopped in the parking lot of the Fleming. I saw Mary, a petite woman with honey-blonde hair and wide blue eyes, standing at the entrance. "That's your friend?" 007 pointed.

I nodded. "Apparently she has your room ready. She would've texted me if she wasn't able to get something. Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Mr...?" I held out my hand.

"Bond, James Bond." James Bond shook my hand. "And you're Teresa Draco?"

"Tracy." I said. Bond looked at me curiously, the corner of his lip turning into an amused smile. "Teresa is the name of a saint. I'm known as Tracy."

"Apparently not to your grandmother." Bond quipped as he got out and began walking to the front door. I watched as he walked inside before turning to go home. I couldn't help but think about him as I drove home.

What was it about him? Why wouldn't he leave my mind? Man, I must really get out more often. I thought as I drove into the underground garage. My life at that point really revolved around university and Grandmother. I went to school at London University during the day and lived under my Grandmother's stern eye at night.

But there was no point to going out. I remembered sadly as I rode the lift to the flat. I didn't want to get close to anyone ever again. After losing my parents and grandfather in a short span of time, I guess I began developing Grandmother's icy heart. In a way, it frightened me to know that I was becoming like Grandmother.

I suppose I was just so lonely that I was more or less grasping for straws at that point. Well, that's all taken care of. I decided upon entering the flat. I was never going to see James Bond, Agent 007, ever again.

Grandmother was waiting for me, her arms folded across her chest. She was not amused. "007 got to his hotel all right?"

"Obviously." I sniped as I took off my coat and hung it up. "I came back alone, didn't I?"

"That will be the last time you get involved in my work." Grandmother followed me into my bedroom. "Bond is not a man to treat lightly. He will use you and abandon you at the first opportunity."

"Nice to see that you care about me, Grandmother. If you'll excuse me, I've got a paper to finish up." I turned on my heel. I flipped up my laptop, plugged in my headphones and got to work.

She didn't leave as I began typing. After a few moments, she asked in a tenative voice. "That's your grandfather's Tennyson book?"

Grandmother was pointing to the slim pocketbook of Tennyson's poems I was using as reference for my paper. I nodded, pushing off my headphones. "Yeah. When I learned my class was doing a section on Tennyson, I pulled it off the shelf."

"He was your grandfather's favorite poet. What's the paper on?"

"It's a historical analysis on Ulysses." I said, not looking up from my laptop. Grandmother saw that she wasn't going to get anything more out of me and excused herself. Using music and my books I was able to continue working.

That was until my mobile phone beeped. It was a number I didn't recognize. Thank you so much, Miss Draco.

Who's this? I texted back, concerned. Only a handful of people knew my mobile number and I only gave it out to people I knew.

Who do you think?

That's when I realized who it was and my concern turned to annoyance. Mr. Bond, how did u get my mobile number?

Your friend was kind enough to give it to me.

I knew Mary well enough to know that she wouldn't just give out my number... U seduced her, u bastard.

There were a few seconds before he responded back. Loose lips sink ships, darling.

God...I could see why Grandmother was annoyed at him. If u send one more text, I'll tell Grandmother.

I waited with baited breath. He didn't respond. Thank God, I thought and continued trying to work on my paper.

But the memory of Bond's hands touching mine and his piercing blue eyes unsettled me.

A/N: So...should I continue?