See ‘NCIS’ Star Pauley Perrette’s ‘Final Bow’ Photo in Her Latest Tweet

Pauley Perrette took her final bow as Abby Sciuto on NCIS, after 16 years and over 350 episodes.

On Tuesday, NCIS star Pauley Perrette officially said goodbye to the eccentric goth genius who has helped the Naval Criminal Investigative Service crack cases for 15 seasons, and as the episode neared its end and fans were forced to face the reality of an NCIS without Abby, Perrette took to Twitter to send off Abby with a final bow.

“#NCIS #GoodbyeAbby #FinalBow Love you guys,” Perrette captioned the image showing herself in character in the midst of a curtsy.

After months of waiting, fans finally had to bid farewell to Perrette’s character on Tuesday night’s episode, titled “Two Steps Back.”

Abby’s storyline seemed set for a tragic end after the May 1 episode, titled “One Step Forward,” ended with Abby and Clayton Reeves (Duane Henry) being mugged at gunpoint and Abby seemingly being shot. Previews for Tuesday night’s episode only added to that speculation, showing medical professionals rushing to save Abby’s life and Abby lying unconscious in a hospital bed as the NCIS team visits her.

However, the series surprised fans when, after joining the team just last season, Reeves was the one in the body bag and Abby was in the hospital in critical condition. She managed to pull through, though, and left the NCIS team arrange Reeves’ funeral plans to be buried next to his mother in London and then repay Reeves the debt she felt she owed him.

Following Perrette’s exit, fans of the series, who still considered the bittersweet ending a painful ordeal given that Abby has been a part of the main cast since NCIS began 15 years ago, took to Twitter to post their own goodbyes to the character. Tweets ranged from fans still in denial and not knowing how to cope to fans seemingly unable to have enough tissues to stop their tears.

Perrette’s exit from the series came after she had been on the show since the beginning. In fact, Abby Sciuto was one of the characters to introduce the series in a backdoor pilot that aired on JAG before the spin-off was introduced.

After announcing her exit in Novemeber and just ahead of the emotional episode, Perrette thanked her fans for sticking with her through her journey.

“To all the fans around the world, I wanna tell you with all of my heart how much I love you guys. How grateful I am for all of your support for both Abby and me over all these years,” Perrette said. “And just to remember with me everything that Abby’s given to us and everything that she’s taught us. I cannot thank you enough. I am so blessed to have fans like you and it means everything to me.”