Ziva: I had nothing but death in my heart.
Gibbs: You never had choice, he dint give you a choice, he raised you be a ruthless, soulless killer.
Ziva: I did not mean to live through it.
Gibbs: You didn't…that part of you died out there.
--
Gibbs didn't have to look behind him to know who was coming down the stairs.
"You should be asleep…"
Ziva took each step slow and deliberately. "I should be here."
Gibbs set his tools down, and turned to face her; his expression saying enough.
"I know I do not to say thank you, again…but I could not sleep without cleaning the air."
"Clearing…"
"That too," she almost smiled. "You said that my Father never gave me a choice…but one always has a choice yes?"
"You're here aren't you?"
She nodded. "What choice was taken away from you?"
Gibbs eyes shifted. "Not important."
"Why is it not?"
"Past Ziva…you gotta leave it there."
"But the past affects who we are in this moment…it affects the choices we make, the friends we have, the life we will lead from this moment on…"
"No it doesn't."
"Then what does?"
"You do…" He pointed at her. "You chose…the past doesn't have that kind of power." He thought for a moment. "Unless you let it."
"Then I am ready to move forward…"
Gibbs nodded towards her. "And you wake up every morning and tell yourself that…"
Ziva's face whitened as her eyes fixated on an invisible pool of blood on the cement floor. "What you said, in interrogation…"
"I don't say things I don't mean Ziva…"
She smiled slowly as she looked up. "I do not deserve a second chance…"
He placed a soft hand on her back and led her upstairs. "None of us do."