What was he doing? He'd found something he never thought he'd find, a woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Anthony DiNozzo wasn't commitment phobic anymore, but he'd allowed old habits to surface. If it's worth it, you work through it. Avril Elizabeth Gibbs was worth it. He clenched the ring in his fist and ran out of his apartment.
"Elizabeth," he called after her.
She was leaned against the entrance to the elevator, crying. As soon as Lizzie heard her name, she looked up and down the hall. She pressed the down button and hoped the doors would open before he reached her. No such luck.
He stopped in front of her, taking her by the arm to pull her away from the opening elevator doors. "I'm not letting you go."
"Why?" she asked, her voice cracking. "Tony, it's all wrong."
"Why? It's not wrong. We aren't wrong, Liz!"
"I'm too young. I'm not finished with school. I shouldn't be thinking about marriage! I want a different life. I don't want to worry every single day! I've had to worry my whole life! I shouldn't have to add one more person to that list! I want simple!"
"Nothing is ever simple."
"It's what I want," she choked out as she pressed the elevator button furiously.
Tony shook his head. "Lizzie, stop. Just stop!" He took her hand away from pressing the button.
She heaved a heavy sigh and looked at him.
"What do you want me to do, Liz?"
"I want to not love you so much! It hurts to think about sitting at home and wondering if you'll come home or worrying about when the phone rings and it's someone telling me you've been hurt or killed. I can't do it."
"It's my job, Elizabeth. It's what I do! If you couldn't handle it, why did you start it?"
"I wasn't planning on falling head over heels in love with you, Tony! I didn't know you'd be the one."
He felt as if all the blame was being put on him. He didn't make her fall in love with him. It had been a two way street. He listened to her choked sobs. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and comfort her. He reached for her, pulling her to him. Elizabeth used all of her strength and pounded on his chest.
"Don't! Don't try to make it better! You can't! I needed you! You weren't there!"
He let her fists pound him but didn't let her out of his grasp. She finally stopped, falling into his chest and weeping into it. "She could have died, Tony. She came close. So close. By the grace of God, she's still here. I can't…I can't go through that again."
Tony put his arms around her more and kissed her head. "Liz, I failed. I failed you. I failed Jenny. I failed Gibbs. I failed myself. I didn't know how to make it right. I still don't," he told her. "I thought I needed you more than you needed me. I was wrong. We need each other. I can't tell you what will happen today, tomorrow, or the next day."
She listened to him as she stayed in his arms, wiping at her eyes.
Tony continued. "I can't make any promises to you. All I know is I'm better with you. You're the only constant that I have. I'll do everything that I can every single day to make sure I come home to you. I'll wear two vests if I have to. I'll get McGee to go into places ahead of me. I mean, that's terrible…but Boss would hate to lose his senior field agent."
When he heard a muffled laugh, he smiled. He hated to be the reason for her tears. "Hey, show me those beautiful eyes I fell in love with the first time I saw you."
She lifted her head up and looked at him. He cupped her face, wiping away her stray tears with his thumbs. "Someone once told me the greatest loves are tested. If it's worth it, you work through it. We're worth it, Liz."
"Did you talk to my grandmother?"
He shook his head. "Your mother."
"Oh," Lizzie said gently.
"Before you came in, I was going to book a flight to Los Angeles to see you. Can you…let me make it up to you?"
She stared at him. How could he make it up to her?
Tony wondered what was going through that beautiful mind of hers. "Liz, everyone deserves a second chance."
She agreed with him about second chances. She thought of the talk her grandmother and mother had given her. Katie's harsh words lingered. What did her sister know? Katie had never had a serious relationship. Hit and runs didn't count. Lizzie decided to listen to the women she knew that had been and were successful in love. Maybe she and Tony would work through their problems and stay as married as long as her mother and father or as long as her grandmother and grandfather. She threw her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. He nearly fell backwards from the force of her. She broke the kiss. "I'll let you. I don't want to let you go. I want us."
He brushed her bangs out of her eyes, cupping her face. "I'm sorry, Liz. You have no idea how much."
She put her hands on his wrists. "I know. I'm sorry for the doubts, the anger, and wanting to call it quits."
He kissed her forehead. "I love you so much."
Elizabeth closed her eyes and let the tears she'd been holding back spill onto her cheeks. She wasn't going to break her own heart or his heart.
He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
"Tony, let's get out of here."
"Where do you want to go?"
"Away."
He opened his eyes and looked into hers. "Where's away?"
"St. Maarten, Turks and Caicos, anywhere tropical…just me and you."
"Liz."
"What?"
"Should we go? What about Jenny?"
"Mom's doing great considering. I'll call her and Daddy on the way."
He nodded his head. "I have another concern."
"Which is?"
"Do you know how expensive a last minute flight to either of those places will be?"
Lizzie smiled at him and dug in her purse, retrieving a credit card. She flashed the black card at him with a wicked smile. "Grandma won't mind."
His eyes widened at the sight of the black American Express card. "I love Helen." He made the mental note that the senior Anthony DiNozzo never needed to meet Helen Shepard. Maybe this would be what they would need. To get away from everyone. To hide from the world. No cell phones, no computers, and no pressure. Just them.
She smiled at him and put the card back into her wallet. "I'll make the plans. You clean your place and pack. I'll go to mine and pack. We'll meet in three hours at Local 16. Rooftop."
"How An Affair to Remember of you, Liz."
"I've always loved a Cary Grant type."
Tony grinned. "I'll see you in three hours." He kissed her deeply. Once the kiss was broken, he watched her step into the elevator and went back to his apartment to clean and pack.
As she hailed a taxi, Lizzie speed dialed her father. He answered after a few rings.
"Yeah," he answered huskily, stretching his arm and feeling the needles and pins. He had to rescue it from being used as a pillow. Jenny had four pillows in her hospital bed, but somehow she found his arm more comfortable to use.
Jenny rolled her eyes at him. He should have said something if his arm was asleep. She leaned in to hear, rubbing her feet against Jethro's legs as she moved even closer to him.
Jethro frowned at her. Her toes were ice cold. "Lizzie, I'm going to put you on speaker." He held the phone in front of him, squinting to find the key. His wife smirked and pressed the button for him.
"Hi mom," Lizzie said with a laugh as her father grumbled.
"Well, how'd it go?" Jenny asked.
"Jen, she called me."
"If I had my phone, she would have called me, Jethro."
"Mom! Dad! Stop!"
Jenny poked her husband in his side and shushed him.
"Go ahead, Lizzie," he told her.
"I gave him the ring back."
"Oh, honey," Jenny said with sympathy. Her daughter needed her, and she was stuck in a hospital.
"He chased after me. We talked, and we're going to work it out. And we're going away for a while."
"To?" Gibbs asked.
"We haven't decided but somewhere tropical. I think Tony and I need to get away from everything and everyone."
Jenny smiled. She and Jethro had done that before. However, Jethro rarely preferred tropical getaways. He was more of a secluded cabin in the woods kind of guy.
"Is that okay considering everything?"
"Sweetheart, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'm not going anywhere. Wait, how are you paying for this, Elizabeth?"
Jethro smirked. "On Helen's dime." He didn't care if he was receiving an angry stare from his wife for taking pleasure in Helen receiving a large credit card bill.
"Yes," Elizabeth answered.
"Be careful, Lizzie. Don't elope," her father said.
Before Gibbs hung up, Jenny told her daughter that she loved her. She turned to Jethro. "You don't think they will…do you?"
He shrugged. "Jen, they're taking a spur of the moment vacation. They could get married."
"No." She resolutely shook her head. "No, Elizabeth would not elope."
"Jen," he said, turning his head to look at her. "Did you ever think we'd be getting DiNozzo for a son-in-law?"
"Jethro, do not go there. Do not use that as a way to tell me it's possible for Elizabeth and Tony to be eloping."
"If they do, we won't have to pay for it. Helen will."
Jenny slapped him on the back of the head.
"Ow!"
"You deserved it." She settled herself against his chest and started the movie again. DiNozzo hadn't emailed her a list of movies to watch yet, but Jethro had bought one of her favorites. McLintock! was one of his favorites also. Jethro was a lot like John Wayne.
He kissed the top of Jenny's head and chuckled. He knew she was still wondering if the young couple would elope.
"Shut up and watch the movie, Jethro."
"I've seen it before."
"So have I." She looked up at him. "I love you."
"I love you too."
He watched her put her head back on his chest and snuggle into him more. He glanced at the clock and pulled the blanket up to Jenny's shoulders. She laughed at the beginning of the mud brawl scene of the movie. Jethro knew to be quiet. It was her favorite part of the film. Personally, his favorite part was the ending. Over the years, he'd thought about throwing Jenny over his knee and giving her a whooping like John Wayne did to Maureen O'Hara. He mostly had that idea when Jenny's red headedness came out. He missed his favorite part. Both were asleep before the movie ended.
On the east coast and in separate cabs, Tony and Lizzie were on the way to Local 16 for a drink before their flight to Turks and Caicos. After receiving a text from Lizzie informing him they were clear to travel, Tony felt better about the trip. He was looking forward to getting away from the city. He hoped the patchwork would be easier without negative influences. He and Lizzie needed to discuss so much. Before Tony turned off his phone, he sent Jenny a long email filled with films to watch.
They arrived at Local 16 at the same time. Tony walked to his fiancée with a smile on his face. He took her hand and kissed it, causing her to blush.
"I missed you," Lizzie admitted.
"I was crazy to stay away from you." He pulled her to him and slipped his arm around her waist, entering the bar. She chose a table on the rooftop while he ordered the drinks, a coconut mojito for him and a spring sting for her.
Lizzie looked over the city and sighed softly. She was ready to be out of D.C. and in a warm, steamy location.
Tony approached the table and sat down, putting her drink in front of her. "One spring sting."
"No blueberry lemonade?"
"I thought we needed something different."
She noticed he didn't have his usual not your mommas margarita. "What's in it?"
"Vodka, triple sec, fruit juice, grenadine, and champagne."
Lizzie had a penchant for fruity drinks involving vodka. She raised her glass and held it up. "To new beginnings."
"And for facing whatever the future holds together," he finished, clinking his glass against hers. The two met for a quick kiss before sampling their beverages. Soon, the couple would be boarding a plane and arriving at their tropical destination.