Fans were forced to say goodbye to Emily Wickersham following the Season 18 finale of NCIS. Not long after Gibbs explained the meaning of “Rule 91,” Ellie Bishop made her mysterious exit from the series. Now, it seems that Gibbs is taking his own advice.

In the final moments of Episode 4, Gibbs tells McGee that he isn't coming back to D.C. Gibbs explains that he's at peace for the first time since his wife and daughter died. Gibbs says in the episode, "I’m not going back, Tim… I’m not going back home."

McGee and Gibbs share one last hug before they part ways in a bittersweet ending that we kind of all saw coming. Mark's contract ended in Season 18, which sparked rumors of his exit. Later, he confirmed that he would join Season 19 for a limited amount of episodes. But Episode 4 proves that great things must come to an end.

According to CBS, “Mark’s always going to be part of the show.” Ahead of his exit, network exec Kelly Kahl told Deadline, “We take it year by year with Mark, we'd love to have him as long as he'd like to be here. Even in this past season, he might have been light in a couple of [episodes], so we're happy to work around his schedule."

Hopefully, that means the door is open for some future appearances. Catch new episodes of NCIS Mondays at 9 p.m. EST on CBS.