‘NCIS’ Star Pauley Perrette’s New Photo Has Fans Already Crying Before Next Week

Her finale episode doesn’t air until Tuesday, May 8, but NCIS fans are already crying about Pauley Perrette‘s departure from the show.

The actress, who plays Abby Sciuto on the long-running procedural, took to Twitter Tuesday night to share a selfie with Duane Henry, with whom she appeared in the cliffhanger ending for Tuesday’s episode.

In the photo, Perrette and Henry, who plays Clayton Reeves, pose arm in arm. “#NCIS Me and [Duane Henry] LOVE YOU MY BROTHER!” Perrette captioned the image.

“Love you more!! You guys have any idea how precious this human is, too good for a lot of us trust me,” Henry responded.

Considering the edge-of-your seat final scene of Tuesday’s episode featuring Abby and Reeves, fans of the show were emotional upon seeing the sweet photo.

“I can tell I’ll be sobbing next week!” one fan wrote.

“Aww great pic. [L]ove you guys,” another said.

“Great picture.. gonna need to stock up on the Kleenex for next [week’s] episode.. we all gonna miss you Pauley!!” another wrote.

“I may need a lot of Kleenex next week,” another fan echoed.

“Reeves and Abby,” another shipped.

“The ending of last [night’s] episode and scenes for next week has me shook!” someone said.

Fans are heartachingly curious to see how the NCIS writers play Abby out of the show after being a staple in the cast since day one — but the show teased a grim fate for Abby in the preview for the May 8 episode.

In the last scene of Tuesday’s episode, Abby is shown leaving a restaurant with Reeves. An unknown man approaches them and pulls a gun on them in an apparent mugging. Abby then tries to talk the shooter down, there is a momentary struggle and a shot rings out. The screen cuts to black before we see who was shot and what exactly happened.

Apparently Abby was struck by the bullet because the preview shows medical professionals rushing to treat Abby at a hospital.

She is then shown unconscious in a hospital room as the NCIS team visits her.

“How could this happen?” Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) says. “Can anyone explain that to me?”

Agent Gibbs (Mark Harmon) has the most emotional moment in the teaser as he feels guilt for not being there to protect her.

“I know I let you down, Abs,” Gibbs says. “I said that I would always keep you safe.”

McGee (Sean Murray) is also seen discussing her condition, saying “The outlook’s not so good.”

While it is unclear whether or not Abby will die in next week’s episode, it appears the creative team is heavily teasing that will be the case.

Perrette recently sat down with CBS News to discuss leaving the role she has played for so long.

“It makes me sad to imagine a world without Abby in it,” Perrette said. “It really makes me sad.”

Apparently saying goodbye to the show has been a rough emotional rollercoaster for her. She says she typically cries going to and leaving work for production.

“I’m still grieving,” she said. “It feels different every day. It’s sad. I usually cry in my car every day when I drive to work, and I usually cry on my way home at some point.”

As for why she is saying goodbye to the show after more than 350 episodes as a main cast member, she touched on the fact that she wants a bit of privacy.

“It’s being a commodity,” Perrette said. “I think I’ve earned some time to myself (to) stay home, go to church.”

Despite that desire for privacy, the 49-year-old actress is not looking to retire from acting. She said she loves the work, and she is currently fielding a slew of offers from “everyone.”

“It’s not like people aren’t asking,” Perrette said. “I’m being offered.. a lot. There’s a lot of conversations going on. And there’s me sitting at home on the couch drinking beer with my dogs, and I’m really good at it.”

NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.