COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It wasn't the way Trista Downey had hoped to spend her Veteran's Day.
The 19-year-old Groveport woman saw her husband Chris off to Afghanistan for military service in July.
Chris, 19, serves as a Specialist in the Army Airborne.
"I miss my husband being here, you can only do so much," she said.
She didn't expect to see her husband until next June. Soon after he left for Afghanistan, the couple learned she was pregnant and that Chris would not be back in time for their child's birth.
Trista didn't know it, but Chris had been granted leave from Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he is stationed to surprise his wife.
Coaxed to Spaghetti Warehouse on Columbus' west side by her father-in-law and friends, she came thinking the event was a family gathering and an NBC 4 interview about army wives in Central Ohio.
Little did she know, Chris was waiting behind the kitchen of the restaurant to surprise her.
As an NBC 4 crew witnessed, Chris popped out and hugged her from behind. She broke down into tears and kissed her husband she hadn't seen in five months.
"I woke up at four this morning for my PT formation then left as soon as I could, and drove the eight and a half hours from Ft. Bragg to get here," said Chris.
The last time he slept? "A couple of days ago," he said.
Chris and Trista are headed back to Fort Bragg where he will be staying until his next deployment, just long enough to see his son being born.
"I'm just glad to have him here," said Trista in between tears and kisses.
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