There were other times I saw her real feelings break through the tough shell she wears.
She talked about a friend of hers who'd had his head chopped of and sent through the mail. She missed him, I could tell, and I didn't press the subject.
She was surprised when she figured out the mystery of the man who hated her because she wore a Star of David. She felt sorry for hating him, because she didn't know his story, just like he didn't know hers.
The day we thought she had killed a boy in the elevator at NCIS. McGee and I didn't believe it, not really. We decided that if she wanted him dead, she would've done it when he was driving her 'down the wall.' But she thought we didn't believe her, that she would really kill a kid because he was being annoying. She dropped her shield that day.
I didn't see it the day Gibbs was blown up. She had a mask on the whole time he was unconscious. Abby noticed, but thought Ziva didn't care. She didn't realize that the tough Israeli was trying to avoid the feelings, to stop herself from trying to find an action she knew wasn't there. We all wanted to help Gibbs, her way was pushing through the pain to find his bomber.