A Bad Takedown Spells Trouble for One Husband and His Wife

A Bad Takedown Spells Trouble for One Husband and His Wife

Tony and Elizabeth Dinozzo was working a very bad and dangerous case. They had the perp surrounded by police cars and the S.W.A.T team standing by. They knew that had to be extra careful, since their perp had hostages and they didn't want them to get hurt. The two captains were talking about sending someone in to talk to the perp, and somehow Elizabeth knew they were thinking about her, so she went over to Tony, who had the same look on his face as she had on hers. She placed her hand on his arm as she began to speak to him. "Both of our captains are discussing about sending someone in there to talk the perp down," she told him softly. "I think they are going to ask me to go in since I can connect with people in ways that none of the others can," she told him. 

Then Elizabeth took Tony by the hand and pulled him onto the other side of the police car as she went on speaking. "IF something should happen to me," she told him being very serious, knowing how dangerous their jobs were. "Promise me you take care of our boys and let them know that their mother loves them," she added. "And don't forget to tell Adam and Andrew the samething," she added. She could tell that Tony was not liking this conversation, but also knew that it needed to happen. Elizabeth reached up and softly touched his face and gave Tony the best smile she had. "Now, let me see that smile," she told him still smiling, even though both of them were scared as hell. 

Re: A Bad Takedown Spells Trouble for One Husband and His Wife

Tony's jaw clenched the moment Elizabeth pulled him behind the patrol car. He could already feel the dread boiling in his chest — that instinct he got every time the world tried to take something from him. And Elizabeth? She wasn't just something. She was everything.

He took her hands, gripping tighter than he meant to.

"Liz... no. Don't start talking like that." His voice was rough, barely above a whisper, but she could hear the fear threaded through it. "You're not going in there alone. Not without every damn safety net we've got."

He glanced back at their captains, already knowing she was right — knowing they were going to pick her. Elizabeth had that gift, that uncanny ability to reach people who were inches from pulling the trigger. It saved lives. But every time she used it, Tony lost a year off his lifespan.

He swallowed hard, eyes locked on hers.

"If they ask you... if you go..." Tony shook his head, like the words tasted wrong. "Nothing is going to happen to you. I'm not accepting that as a possibility. Not today."

But she touched his face, and he could feel himself breaking — just a little.

He stepped closer, one hand coming up to cradle her cheek.

"Elizabeth, listen to me. Our boys already know you love them. Every hug, every bedtime story, every time you yelled at them for climbing the damn roof— they know. Adam and Andrew too. They know you're the heart of this whole family."

His thumb brushed her cheek, and then he leaned in, resting his forehead against hers.

"But I'm not making that promise because you're not dying today."
He opened his eyes, fierce and terrified all at once.
"You hear me? I'm not walking out of here without you."

He forced a smirk — the DiNozzo trademark — but it wobbled at the edges.

"You want a smile?" he murmured. "You'll get a real one when this is over and you're back in my arms yelling at me for hovering."

Still, he softened, letting her see that part of him he rarely let anyone else see.

"I love you, Liz. Come back to me. No hero stunts unless I'm right behind you."

And then, in pure Tony fashion, he kissed her forehead, quick and fierce.

"Now let's go make sure nobody dies today — especially you."

Re: A Bad Takedown Spells Trouble for One Husband and His Wife

 Elizabeth smiled as she knew better than to ask Tony to make a promise like that. She kissed him back just as hard and passionate  and then soon broke it as their captain called for Elizabeth to go in. She nodded and then looked back at Tony as she fought back the tears. "Hey, I'm coming back to you," she told him. "I promise you that," she added as she softly touched his face. "Besides, you think I'm going anywhere after you promised me that we could try for a baby girl after Frankie was born?" she asked him with a smirk. "Now, you just stay back here and wait for me," she said smiling. "

I'll be careful and I'll make sure I am covered good. I love you so much Anthony Dinozzo," she told him only using his whole name in special moments like this. Finally Elizabeth left Tony's arms and walked with their captain towards the hostage's door. The Captain gave her final instructions and soon, after taking one last look at Tony,  she was standing at the door, talking to the purp, who finally let her in. There were guns all over the placed aim straight at the door but nobody really had a clear view of the purp. Everything went quiet for several minutes before there wasy yelling and that's when the shooting began and although the hostiages were able to run out of the house, Elizabeth was no where to be seen nor heard. 

Re: A Bad Takedown Spells Trouble for One Husband and His Wife

The second Elizabeth disappeared behind that door, Tony felt something inside him tear open.

He tried to stay put—God knows he tried—but every instinct he had screamed that something was wrong. The yelling started, then the gunfire. His vision tunneled. His heart slammed against his ribs. He could hear Gibbs in his head saying "Don't rush in, DiNozzo." He could hear Elizabeth's voice saying "Stay back and wait for me."

But when those hostages came running out and Elizabeth wasn't one of them, Tony broke.

"ELIZABETH!"

He didn't even realize he shouted her name until his legs were already moving. Officers reached for him but he pushed past them, sprinting toward the house.

"TONY—STOP!" their captain yelled.

But he was already through the doorway.

Inside was chaos—flipped furniture, shattered glass, smoke hanging in the air. Someone fired the moment Tony crossed the threshold.

The impact hit him like a sledgehammer.

A bullet tore into his shoulder, spinning him halfway around. He slammed into the wall but stayed upright, one hand clamping over the wound as hot blood soaked through his fingers.

"ELIZABETH!" he yelled again, voice cracking with raw fear.

He staggered deeper inside, ignoring the pain, ignoring the ringing in his ears. He saw no sign of her—no hair, no uniform, no movement.

Just gunmen, shouting, firing wildly into the kitchen where he'd last seen shadows.

Tony lifted his gun with his uninjured arm, eyes blazing. "WHERE IS SHE?!"

Another shot whizzed past him. Officers finally stormed in behind him, dragging him toward cover, but Tony fought them like a man possessed.

"LET ME GO—SHE'S IN HERE! I KNOW SHE'S IN HERE!"

Blood dripped down his arm. His knees buckled, but he still forced himself up, leaning against the wall, panting, desperate.

"Elizabeth..." His voice broke. "Please... answer me."

Silence.

Except for the sound that ripped straight out of Tony's soul:

"Baby, where are you?"

Re: A Bad Takedown Spells Trouble for One Husband and His Wife

When the hostages were escaping and running for their lives, the gunman took the opportunity to go after Elizabeth, which caused most of the damage that was seen around the house. Then the gunshots started and both the gunman and Elizabeth exchanged bullets, also causing both become wounded by the other. The gunman was shot in the shoulder though Elizabeth knew she could have easily taken the kill shot. And Elizabeth had been seriously wounded in the stomach causing her to lose her balance and fall to the floor, dropping her gun beside the couch. Once the gunman had realized that he had shot a cop, and thinking that she was dead, he knew he had to get rid of the body, so he drug Elizabeth's body to the basement staircase and just rolled it down the stairs.

When Tony ran into the house, the gunman freaked out and once again began shooting, hitting Tony in the shoulder. The gunman started to laugh uncontrollably as the SWAT team began to invade the house and just as they were getting ready to arrest the gunman, he turned his own gun on himself and pulled the trigger, killing himself instantly. As the SWAT team was starting to go room to room, making sure there was nothing else, one SWAT noticed the trail of blood that was leading to the basement, which he followed. That was when he found Elizabeth, unconious and shot, but still breathing and still very much alive. That's when he yelled up the stairs for everyone including Tony to hear. "HEY! I FOUND A FEMALE COP DOWN HERE!! SHE'S BEEN SHOT!!" he yelled, hoping that someone heard him.

Re: A Bad Takedown Spells Trouble for One Husband and His Wife

Tony didn't remember hitting the floor.

One second he was pushing through the front door, shouting "NCIS! Drop the weapon!" — the next there was a flash, the deafening crack of a gunshot, and a white-hot explosion in his shoulder that spun him sideways into the wall.

He gritted his teeth, forcing himself upright even as blood soaked through his shirt. The gunman's laughter echoed through the house — manic, unhinged — and Tony's vision tunneled. He raised his weapon with his good arm, fury burning hotter than the pain.

"Not today," he muttered.

But before he could line up a shot, SWAT flooded in like a tidal wave — boots pounding, commands shouted, red dots dancing over walls. The gunman's laughter cut off abruptly with one final shot.

Silence.

The kind that rang in Tony's ears.

He pushed off the wall, ignoring the hands trying to steady him.

"Clear the rooms!" someone barked.

Tony's heart pounded for one reason and one reason only.

Elizabeth.

He hadn't seen her.

Hadn't heard her.

And that terrified him more than the bullet lodged in his shoulder.

He staggered forward. "Elizabeth!" he shouted, voice raw. "Liz!"

No answer.

Then—

"HEY! I FOUND A FEMALE COP DOWN HERE!! SHE'S BEEN SHOT!!"

Tony's entire body went cold.

Basement.

He didn't feel the medics grabbing at him. Didn't hear them telling him to sit down. He tore free, ignoring the way his shoulder screamed in protest as he bolted toward the stairs.

Every step down felt like falling off a cliff.

And then he saw her.

At the bottom of the staircase. Pale. Still. Blood pooling beneath her.

Her gun lay a few feet away.

For one horrifying second, he thought he was too late.

"Liz," he breathed.

He dropped to his knees beside her, uncaring of the blood soaking into his pants. His hand trembled as he reached for her neck.

Pulse.

Weak.

But there.

"She's alive," he choked out, voice breaking. "She's alive."

The SWAT officer stepped aside as medics rushed past Tony. He didn't move. Couldn't move.

Her stomach wound was bad. Too much blood. Her face was gray.

He gently brushed hair away from her face with shaking fingers.

"You don't get to do this," he whispered fiercely. "You don't get to scare me like this."

One of the medics pressed gauze into her abdomen. "We need space!"

Tony ignored him.

"Elizabeth. Hey. Hey, come on." He leaned closer. "You are not allowed to check out early. You hear me? We still have movies to argue about. And you still owe me coffee."

Her lashes fluttered faintly.

That was enough.

His breath hitched, relief crashing through him so hard he nearly swayed.

"I'm right here," he said, softer now. "I'm not going anywhere."

They lifted her onto the stretcher.

Only then did one of the medics grab Tony's arm again. "Agent, you've been shot."

"Yeah," he said flatly, eyes never leaving Elizabeth as they carried her up the stairs. "I noticed."

His shoulder throbbed. His head swam. But none of that mattered.

As they wheeled her toward the ambulance, Tony followed — stubborn, limping, bleeding — because if she was breathing, he was staying.

No matter what.