The holiday episode of NCIS is expected to be a tearjerker as Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) writes an emotional letter to his father while looking back at his past.

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"McGee is kind of reflecting on the past and on the rules that Gibbs has tried to instill in the team over the years, and questioning some of those rules and just thinking back," Murray told TVGuide.com. "He's going to spend the holiday with ... his dad, and that's something that he doesn't frequently do. They have a strained relationship. He's sort of estranged from his father, and part of him writing that letter, I think, is him getting out a lot of stuff he can't necessarily say."

McGee's trip down memory lane will also include appearances from several past NCIS team members, including Ziva, Jenny, Franks and Kate.

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Jenny Shepard (Lauren Holly), the former director of the team, was killed in action during the season 5 finale. Michael Franks, the original leader of the Major Case Response Team, was given a funeral during season 8 after being killed by Jonas Cobb. Special agent Caitlin "Kate" Todd (Sasha Alexander) was murdered during season 2 by Mossad member Ari Haswari. Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) wasn't killed, but decided to leave the NCIS team last year.

"It's an episode that really, I think, is kind of a reward to longtime fans," Murray said.

The NCIS Christmas episode airs on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.

Watch the episode teaser below:

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