Is Diona Reasonover Leaving 'NCIS'? What We Know About Kasie Hines' Future on the Show

NCIS loves to play with fans' emotions by hinting that a beloved cast member will leave (they do it with McGee nearly every season).

Season 19, Episode 13 (titled "The Helpers") saw Kasie Hines (played by Diona Reasonover) deciding whether to renew her contract at NCIS after a traumatic year on the CBS show.

In "The Helpers," her lab was in lockdown after she opened a flask with a dangerous biohazard in it. For much of the episode, she considered this the "third strike" that was telling her she should leave – after all, she had already been shot at (strike one) and held hostage (strike two).

With NCIS fans still reeling from the departure of Gibbs (Mark Harmon) could they soon be saying goodbye to Kasie too? Here's what we know.

Is Kasie Leaving NCIS?

At first in NCIS Season 19, Episode 13, it seemed that Kasie might be leaving not by resigning but by dying.

After the toxin is analyzed, Kasie and Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) learn that the toxin is 100 percent lethal, and there are some nasty symptoms involved. Kasie starts exhibiting some of them – the biohazard ups her adrenaline, and then she begins coughing up blood. Then, she passes out unconscious.

Kasie's fate seems so certain, in fact, that she leaves a goodbye message on her mom's voicemail.

Just as she and Jimmy have accepted the inevitable and are holding hands waiting for the end, however, the CDC biotoxin expert Carol Wilson (Meredith Eaton) comes in with the antidote and saves their lives.

Though Kasie is going to live for another day, the question still remains over whether she will sign her contract – and whether Diona Reasonover is leaving NCIS.

Luckily, however, the answers are, respectively, she will, and she won't. She tells the team that this "third strike" made her reflect on her time on the team, and makes her certain that she wants to stay there for strikes four, five and six.

"Where else am I going to find helpers like you guys," she says, referencing Mr. Rogers advice to look for the helpers in life.

Before this, Reasonover had been stoking fan speculation that her character was leaving the show. She posted an image from "The Helpers" showing her and Dietzen lying on the floor holding hands. She wrote: "Tonight's the night! @ncis_cbs returns, but will Kasie????"

This definitely had fans worried she was on her way out of the CBS show. One fan, for example, commented: "DIONA??!? the caption was so uncalled for now i'm nervous," while another wrote "I hope nothing happens to Kasie, you both are awesome."

NCIS Season 19 airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. CT on CBS.