Those tears came from the happy eyes of Cpl. Brandon Gott, who had not seen his 6-year-old daughter, Scarlett, in almost a year.

On Monday morning Gott surprised his daughter with a visit to her school.

Gott, who serves with the 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division in Afghanistan, waited expectantly for his little girl as the crowd of small children meandered past him in the hallway.

Then, he saw her.

“Scarlett!”

The tiny girl leaped into her father’s arms and for just a little while there was no one else.

“I want to come home with you,” she whispered through happy tears on her father’s shoulders.

Indeed, a lot had changed for Gott.

When he left, his little girl wasn’t wearing glasses or earrings and still had all her baby teeth.

Nearby, Gott’s niece, 14-year-old Baily Gott, a Belton High School freshman, snapped pictures of the happy reunion.

“This is a really big deal,” she said. “They have a really close relationship.”

Gott had planned the happy reunion with family members for several weeks before he got the chance to come home a little early and surprise the most important girl in his life.

Gott, who shares custody with Scarlett’s mother, can only speak with her every few weeks, and hadn’t spoken with his daughter in nearly a month.

“I can’t express to you what this means,” he said. “There is just nothing like holding your child.”

The same went for Scarlett, who refused to untangle her arms from her father’s waist.

“I am very happy,” she said.