NCIS left fans emotional last night (Tuesday, January 4) when season 19's midseason premiere offered up a sweet nod to fan favourite character Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

Despite being around 3,300 miles away from the rest of the team, the former special agent's presence was felt heavily throughout the episode, as McGee (Sean Murray) and Palmer (Brian Dietzen) tried to work out where mysterious $10,000 deposits into each of their bank accounts came from.

mark harmon as gibbs, ncis
CBS Photo Archive//Getty Images

Related: NCIS season 19 is coming to Disney+ in the UK

Titled 'Pledge of Allegiance', the instalment saw the pair get informed by Director Vance (Rocky Carroll) that the money came from Gibbs (Mark Harmon), and is intended to be put towards their respective children's college scholarship funds.

"That's amazing, but I mean, it's way too generous," Palmer exclaimed, before McGee interjected: "Agreed. We can't possibly keep it."

"Well, you can't give it back. I should know, I tried," Vance explained, as he revealed that Gibbs donated to him too, many years ago, when his kids were the same ages that Tim's and Jimmy's are presently.

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"It's [all] in memory of his daughter, Kelly," he continued. "When he was young, he started a college fund. When she died, Gibbs never closed the account. In fact, he kept adding to it. So since then, he's helped a lot of agents' families. The kids all going to college in Kelly's honour."

"What a legacy," McGee gushed, as Palmer wished he could thank the team's old boss "in person."

"Well, hopefully one day you will," Vance smiled.

diona reasonover, sean murray, ncis season 19
Getty Images//CBS

Related: NCIS confirms crossover event with spin-off NCIS: Hawai'i

"The ending was so sweet. Almost as good as seeing Gibbs with a smile or giving a Gibbs hug," one satisfied viewer said of the scene on Twitter, while another tweeted: "What a great ending to last night's NCIS episode. What a way to keep Gibbs part of the story after his departure!!"

"Love Director Vance's last line! Gives me great hope that we definitely have NOT seen the last of Leroy Jethro Gibbs," enthused a third, as a fourth joked that McGee should've been given $20,000 as he's got twins.

Check out some more heartfelt reactions below...

NCIS airs on CBS in the US.

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