'NCIS' cast bids farewell to Michael Weatherly in sweet video

It's a bit of a cliche when casts claim they've become a "family" in their time working together -- but in the case of NCIS, it's really the only appropriate word for the bond built between actors over 13 seasons. 

That, of course, makes saying goodbye to a member of the team particularly difficult. And with Michael Weatherly's exit imminent -- his final episode airs May 17 -- Pauley Perrette admits she has "this sense of mourning." 

"You don't spend 13 years with someone and not miss them," adds Mark Harmon, whose character Gibbs was a mentor to Weatherly's DiNozzo. "That's crazy to think that." 

The feeling is seemingly mutual. Earlier this week, Weatherly told reporters on a conference call that he and his co-star shared a very Gibbs/DiNozzo-like goodbye.

"Well, Mark [is] always gracious and always the gentleman, but like his character, a functional mute," he joked. "He was pretty succinct. He said, 'thank you' and 'good luck,' which I adored the simplicity of and appreciated deeply." 

Weatherly added: "Mark is very old-fashioned, old-school gentleman and I’ve learned a great deal at his side. [I] look to the future with, you know, taking a lot of that Mark Harmon wisdom with me." 

Hard as it will be to bid Weatherly farewell, Sean Murray is certain the show will go on -- just as it has in the past. 

"Throughout the history of the show there's always been changes, and we've always tried to use it as an opportunity," he says. 

Though as Weatherly adds in the video: "The craziest thing that I could say right now is that it ain't over. Stay tuned because in the world of NCIS, nobody knows anything." 

NCIS's season finale airs Tuesday on CBS.

Proma Khosla contributed to this report.

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