The "NCIS" season-finale and last episode with Michael Weatherly as a full-time cast member left as many unanswered questions as the number of those it answered.

Chief among the remaining mysteries is the question of what kind of father Weatherly's Tony DiNizzo character will make to his newly discovered daughter and the issue of if mom Agent Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) is truly no more.

The "Family First" episode ended with Ziva presumed dead after her family farmhouse in Israel was blown to shreds.

No Stone Unturned in Developing Storyline

"Tremendous thought was put into every element of what you saw last night," said show-runner Gary Glasberg. "At the end of the day, I leave it in the hands of our fantastic fans and audience. To quote Tony DiNozzo at the end of the episode, 'You gotta believe what you gotta believe.'"

The episode took a shocking twist when it was revealed DiNozzo and David had not only gone beyond their onscreen flirtations, but consummated their relationship to the point of now having a daughter together.

De Pablo's character left the series several seasons ago without telling DiNozzo that she was carrying daughter Tali, whom Tony instantly became enamored with after learning of her existence.

"Tony's in love with this little girl," said Glasberg. "He's taking her back to Israel, they're going to Paris. This is a new relationship for him, a new time for him. He needed this catalyst - it's the only catalyst - that would drive Tony DiNozzo away from his NCIS family."

Will DiNozzo or David Ever Return?

The question now becomes will DiNozzo ever return to the "NCIS" screen, not to mention de Pablo, whose corpse was never found following the explosion.

"NCIS" is a show and a franchise that's known historically for leaving lots of things unanswered and leaving all doors opens," Glasberg said. "We revisit all kinds of things in all kinds of ways. We never say never and I'm not going to stray from that kind of approach."

Meanwhile, ratings for the season-finale were up 19 percent from the week before, averaging a 2.5 rating share in adults 18-49 and 17.6 million viewers overall.