Ziva's relationships with her colleagues steadily improve, and she invites Gibbs, Abby, McGee, and Palmer over to her apartment for dinner in the third season. Abby, who thinks Ziva is an excellent cook, begins to soften towards her, as the latter works to earn her friendship, first by helping Abby put a bomb back together for information and later by remembering her birthday. Abby, in turn, expresses concern when Ziva and Tony go missing in "Boxed In". In the third season finale, the tension comes to a head, and Abby angrily tells Ziva she has no emotions, prompting both women to slap each other. They later apologize after Tony goads them into it, and both women punch him in the arm when he jokingly suggests that they should "tongue-kiss" one another.