A second goldfish is nice and all, sure, but why isn’t NCIS‘ Tony keeping Ziva in his life in a more literal way, either through Skyping (on an encrypted line, of course) or any other technology available to him?

“A lot of people have approached me about the idea of not shutting the door entirely on [their staying in touch], and I’m not opposed to it,” showrunner Gary Glasberg told TVLine at the Television Critics Association press tour on Wednesday, when we asked if the CBS drama might ever suggest that Tony (played by Michael Weatherly) is finding ways to communicate with his ex-colleague (former cast member Cote de Pablo). “But it has to be done in a way where it feels organic to the storytelling and we’re not just throwing in lines about Ziva here and there.”

For example, “If Tony’s in a personal relationship or there’s something significant happening for him and he wondered how she would respond, then maybe we can figure out a way to do it. It’s a valid issue to bring up.”

But anyone asking for “Tiva” to somehow live on, even off camera, and for Tony to grow as a person/agent, is in a way suggesting two mutually exclusive things.

“Every time we bring her up, for Michael [Weatherly] and for Tony, it pulls him back to being in that relationship again,” Glasberg explained. “So its a tricky balance.

“We’re as sensitive to him moving forward post-Ziva as the rest of the world is,” Glasberg also said, because doing so “gives him the opportunity to grow and try things and meet people and move on.”

Addressing NCIS‘ other hot topic, Glasberg said he is “really proud” of the decision to catch McGee’s new girlfriend Delilah (recurring player Margo Harshman) in a bomb blast, leaving her paralyzed.

“Sometimes I walk into the writers room and I say to them, ‘We’re going to do something,’ and they look at me like I have six heads, and one of those instances was I wanted this bomb to go off — similar to some of the tragic stories that I saw after the Boston marathon…. I remember seeing a piece about a bunch of [female victims] who had managed to start to pull their lives back together again, and I wanted to try to capture some of that on our show. “The intent is to show a really smart individual take control of her life and rise up after all she’s been through. We’re excited about the arc that character is going to face as someone in a wheelchair.”

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