Thanks to the fact that she had already brushed him off several times, Tony knew it would be useless to approach Ziva during the work day. Instead, he laid in wait for her to leave at the end of the day and just as the elevator doors were about to close on her, he thrust a hand inside and joined her in the small space. He finally had her alone but he found he didn't know where to start.
"Tony, why are you staring at me like that?" Ziva asked with an edge of annoyance in her voice.
Tony was startled, he had been so intent on figuring out his first words that he hadn't even realized that he was gazing at her so intensely. "Sorry. I was just wondering how you were doing."
"As I have told you and Gibbs and Abby and every single one of the people who has asked me that - I am fine. I wrote my father out of my life when I decided to stay with NCIS so I am no worse off than I was before this incident happened."
"But he still affects you, Ziva. I saw you last night -"
"I do not want to talk about last night," Ziva snapped before Tony could even finish speaking.
He words were like a slap in the face and Tony fell silent, staring at the wall and wondering how he ever let things get so messed up. Ziva saw his reaction and relented a bit. She slapped down the emergency stop and turned to face him.
"Tony, I do not mean to be so harsh but you are like a friend who does a favor and then will not let you forget about it."
Tony wasn't sure this made him feel any better, classifying last night as "a favor" sounded so detached he almost preferred anger to such a lack of emotion. He would rather be a sore spot than a side note. Still, if that was how she wanted it, he could play that game, too.
He waved a hand dismissively and said,"I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about before. I'm talking about the fact that you were nearly catatonic after your run in with your father and now you're acting as if nothing happened."
"No, I am acting like a professional."
It was like talking to a wall and Tony finally let his frustration get the better of him. "Well you certainly weren't being 'professional' yesterday when you flew off the handle and took out the surveillance. Just what exactly did your father say that upset you so much, because you weren't exactly forthcoming in your report."
As soon as the words had left his mouth, Tony knew he had gone too far. He needed to commiserate with her, not castigate her, but he wasn't going to get a second chance. Ziva's mouth closed in a thin line as she flipped the switch to start the elevator moving again. She remained silent but he could see the anger, and what he thought was fear, bubbling just beneath the surface.
Finally, just as they were about to reach the ground floor, she turned to him and spat out her reply. "It was personal, and it won't affect NCIS. Apparently, my loyalty is too suspect for anyone to accept that but I am not going to say anymore."
Then she spun around and flung herself through the now open doors. Tony reached out and caught her by the arm, stopping her headlong rush to flee the scene.
"Ziva, you have to know that Vance isn't going to accept 'it's personal' as an excuse. And besides, even if you don't want to tell him, I'm willing to bet your father will."
"I will deal with that when it happens," Ziva said as she shook off his hand and stalked out of the building.
Well, Tony thought to himself in a sarcastic mental voice, I think that went well. Then he sighed. Gibbs was not going to be happy when Tony told him that, if anything, Ziva was worse off than before.