Unbelievable Moment
Extricating himself from the arms of his children, Chris was finally able to approach his wife, standing a few feet away. She was still holding the sign she had made to welcome her husband home. Chris didn’t take the time to process the words on her sign, but immediately went in to hug his wife of almost six years. But there was something, besides time, and his three children, in the way.
Chris reached out his arms, but Natasha stepped back, finally releasing the poster board from her hands. Chris blinked. He stared at his wife. He stepped back himself. He stared. He froze. There was silence. There was shock. Finally the Petty Officer asked, “Is that real? Are you serious?”
Homeward Bound
Six months finally came and went and Chris's deployment ended. The USS Vinson was on its way back to the United States of America. Chris Daugherty was on his way back to his home, his children, and his wife, Natasha. The family man could finally return to the loved ones that had been fighting the every day battles without him for more than half a year.
All three of the Daugherty children were ecstatic that they would soon be reunited with their dad. Natasha too couldn't wait to hold her husband in her arms. Yet, she worried that he wouldn't understand, when he finally saw her, how she had kept so much from him. For his own good. For the good of his crewmates. As the USS Vinson headed back toward the west coast of America, Natasha prepared to meet the wave that would come with it.
A Soldier’s Welcome
Petty Office Chris Daugherty returned to San Diego on June 23, 2017. His family made the journey to meet him, and the USS Vinson, as his ship docked. Smiling ear-to-ear, Chris disembarked and headed toward the grinning faces of his children and wife, all holding signs to welcome their dad homes.
All three of the Daugherty children wore miniature sailor outfits and ran to hug their father as he descended to greet them. The trio embraced their father, also in uniform, almost forcing him to the ground. Only Natasha held back from the group embrace. It took Chris a moment to realize why his wife did not join their children.
Moment Of Truth
The sign, that now lay on the ground between husband and wife, read, "Welcome Home Baby Daddy." Already a parent to three children the sign had not seemed out of the ordinary. But the sign had been strategically held by Natasha, hiding something from Chris, the very something she had been hiding from her husband for the six months he had been away.
Behind her sign Natasha wore a t-shirt that read, "I am the present my daddy gave my mommy before he deployed." The shirt was stretched across Natasha's very pregnant stomach. A crowd had slowly gathered around the couple. Natasha and Chris were far from the only ones crying under the watchful eye of the USS Vinson.
Stunned Sailor
Chris was stunned. Reflecting on the moment he called it, "awesome confusion." He wasn't sure if his wife was playing an elaborate joke and had to prod her belly to be sure it was all real. He could barely believe his eyes. He couldn't understand how she'd been able to hide her pregnancy from him for a whole six months, even though he was halfway across the globe.
Chris composed himself and finally, after half a year away, was able to hug and kiss his wife. He celebrated not just the return of his family, but its expansion. Each homecoming was meaningful to the Daugherty family, but this one would live on as the most special the family had ever and, likely, would ever experience. But the surprises weren't over just yet. Natasha had waited patiently, and it was time for her husband to know everything.