'NCIS': Pauley Perrette Sends Farewell Message to Duane Henry After Emotional Exits

Duane Henry got a heartfelt goodbye from Pauley Perrette after Tuesday night's episode of NCIS.

Perrette has played Abby Sciuto on the crime drama for more than 15 years. Tuesday's episode was promised to be her last, as the actress has chosen to move on from the series. However, Henry, who played Clayton Reeves, became an unexpected casualty of the story as well.

The two characters were accosted by a gunman, who turned out to be a hired hitman. He shot them both in a dark alleyway, but Abby was able to recover from her injuries. Clayton, on the other hand, didn't make it.

"I love you @RealDuaneHenry," Perrette wrote on Twitter. "You and me are family forever. My lil'bro. You are a talented superstar. I say, the next #JamesBond ?"

Clayton's sacrifice became the driving force for Abby for the remainder of the episode. Not only did she track down the man who hired his killer, he was her motivation for leaving the department.

In the end, Abby informed her co-workers that she was going to escort Reeves' body back to his home in London. She intended to stay and help arrange the funeral, and she wasn't going to come back to NCIS. After a few heartfelt goodbyes, she left for good.

Fans joined Perrette in sending Henry off in style. Many were blind-sided by his on screen death, and some even lashed out at the show's writers and producers.

Perrette announced her departure from the show in October of 2017 through a post on Twitter.

"So, it is true that I am leaving NCIS after this season. There has been all kinds of false stories as to why (NO I DON'T HAVE A SKIN CARE LINE AND NO MY NETWORK AND SHOW ARE NOT MAD AT ME!)," she wrote frankly. "It was a decision made last year. I hope everyone will love and enjoy EVERYTHING ABBY not only for the rest of this season but for everything she has given all of us for 16 years. All the love, all the laughter, all the inspiration… I love her as much as you do."

Perrette did not offer much more detail as to why she was making this massive transition in her life, though she did tell TV Guide that it was a soul-searching decision.

"I believe in God and the universe so firmly, and it just suddenly became blindingly apparent that now was the time," she said. "After a lot of thought, I decided to announce it myself on Twitter because I didn't want it to be turned into anything 'shocking.' Abby leaving is more than a cheap TV ploy."