She feels the empathy for Kaylen Burrows settle into her stomach as she watches the naval officer twitch uncomfortably whenever Tony asks her a particularly harsh question. When Tony leaves to go help McGee with information on the case, Ziva turns to the one-way mirror and mimes a cut-throat action, knowing that Alex, the guy on the other side, will leave. When she's given him sufficient time to get out, Ziva turns back to Kaylen and watches her.

The woman sits rigidly; staring at her folded and interlinked fingers, her lips moving soundlessly to a sound or thought Ziva's unbeknownst to. "Kaylen." Ziva whispers, and the girl flinches, closes in on herself as though Ziva had reached over the desk and slapped her. "Kaylen, I need you to tell me what happened."

Kaylen shakes her head, still staring at her hands. Ziva watches her, eyes full of a rare compassion. With a heavy sigh, Ziva realizes what must be done. "Officer Burrows." She murmurs, reaching her hand across the table and flipping her palm upward so that Kaylen can see the scars the run their way up her delicate wrists.

Kaylen lets out a small gasp, extends a hand from her lap and brushes them against one of the scars, right where a major vein is. Ziva hisses in pain, and Kaylen whips her hand back quickly, a look of fear marring her pretty features. Ziva shakes her head. "I want you to feel them. Tell me what they feel like. Tell me what you imagine when you touch them." Ziva tells her gently, and Kaylen – though she hesitates – complies slowly.

She brushes her pointer finger of her right hand against each scar, as though counting them individually. Ziva doesn't make a sound, even though it hurts. A lot. "Why? Who gave you these scars? Why would someone hurt you like this?" Kaylen asks, her voice shaking.

Ziva slowly drags her wrist back across the table, lays it across her lap. "I was tortured for information on NCIS." Ziva says, watching Kaylen's eyes. The girl flinches again, but Ziva ignores it. "But I was not only tortured by cuts and scarring that will not fade." She pulls back the collar of her t-shirt to reveal a long, straight scar that traces from her shoulder to her ear. Kaylen's hand flies to her mouth, but Ziva merely shrugs.

"They raped me, Kaylen. Over and over again until I could not move. Until I was crying. Real tears. Until I was soaked in my own blood. Until I felt like I was going to die. Until I wished for death. But it did not come. You are the first person who I have spoken to about this. I trust you with this information. But I need you to understand that you are not the only person who has felt this mental war before. Like you do not know which way to turn. Because I have. I know what it is like to fight inner demons. And I know what it is like to hold a secret like this." There are tears streaming down both of their cheeks by now, but neither moves to wipe them away.

"So will you please," Ziva whispers, her voice cracking horribly, "tell me what happened that night, and who did this to you, because they deserve to be locked up." Kaylen hesitates, lifts her hands onto the table, and then she gives an almost missed shake of her head. Ziva lets out a heavy breath and slowly rises to her feet. Kaylen looks up at her, eyes wide with fear, as though scared Ziva's going to hit her. Ziva just gives her a weak smile and turns to go, but just as her hand is on the doorknob, Kaylen's broken and shattered voice stops her.

"I'm sorry."

Ziva stands rigid, and then turns to the scared young woman sitting in the chair. She marches back over to her, bends down, and whispers in her ear. "Never say you're sorry. It is a sign of weakness." Kaylen grows stock-still at her close proximity, but all Ziva does is press a gentle kiss to her temple and turn to walk away again. But this time, just before she pushes on the door to leave, she glances at the one-way mirror. Though she can't see who's there, she knows someone is. And she knows exactly who it is. She gives a knowing smile.

Tony, on the other side of the glass, who has tears slipping down his cheeks from her story, is suddenly reminded of rule number fifty-one:

Sometimes – you're wrong.

So, I adored this episode - the girl gets raped and refuses to press charges or tell anyone who it is until the end of the episode - and when Tony and Ziva are interrogating her, Tony's being very harsh on her, and Ziva is being all compassionate, and the look in her eyes made me kinda tear up a bit. I loved it. And the rules mentioned in here are rule six (never say you're sorry. it's a sign of weakness) and rule fifty one (sometimes - you're wrong). So don't forget to review!
no white horse for me