Epilogue

Beams of sunlight streamed through the plate glass window of the same Seattle body art studio that had served Allegra so well on two prior occasions.  Brightly colored tinsel and lights laced the edges in anticipation of the Christmas holiday that was just two days away.  The impromptu detour on their way home to LA was a little crazy, but she’d felt compelled to do it just the same.  This may or may not be the last time she would need Jack-the-tattoo-artist’s special skills, but the visit would at least finish up this particular piece of artwork.

Lying there staring at the ceiling as she waited for him to complete her masterpiece, she absently fingered the sapphire pendant at her neck.  It had been a gift from Richie to celebrate Faith’s birth and happened to match the earrings he’d given her on their wedding day. 

“It was just a lucky coincidence that Bug’s birthstone is the same blue that matches your eyes,” he had told her the day he returned from Australia, eyes twinkling and a huge stuffed koala bear wrapped in his left arm. 

“And who’s your new friend,” she asked dryly, as though she didn’t know it was the first step in his plan to spoil his younger daughter rotten.

“This…”  He presented the stuffed creature, holding it before him with both hands.  “Is Wally.  I bought him as soon as we hung up after the delivery.  He’s Bug’s birthday present.”

Shaking her head ruefully, Allegra reluctantly accepted the fact that Richie Sambora was an absolute sucker for his kids.  It was a good thing there were extra bedrooms in the house for the multitude of treasures she felt sure would make their way home.

“What are you thinking about with that sneaky little grin on your face?” the devastatingly handsome man in question inquired from his station on the other side of the room.  He carelessly rocked the fuzzy pink bundle that had scarcely left his arms in the three days since they’d ‘met’.  Reluctantly, he allowed Allegra to feed her, but only because his breasts weren’t equipped to do the job himself. 

“Just hoping that next time it’s a boy,” she confided, thrilled when his eyes widened with surprised pleasure.  “You need a son, too.”

“Two weeks after delivery and you’re already talking about another one?  Not that I’m trying to discourage you,” he hastily tacked on.  “I’d love as many kids as you’re willing to have.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that, because I desperately want a little boy with his Daddy’s sparkling eyes and mischievous nature.  And at my age, waiting isn’t really the best idea.”

Motherhood agreed with – and came effortlessly to – Allegra.  The pregnancy and delivery had both gone amazingly well ‘for a woman of her age’, Dr. Shively had assured her before warning not to wait too long if Allegra intended to add to her family.  She would be celebrating her fortieth birthday in a couple of months and Richie would be fifty-two this year, so time wasn’t their friend.

Apparently satisfied that he’d completed the design to her request, Jack handed her the mirror so she could see his handiwork a little better.  Breast feeding had boosted her bra size enough to interfere with the view of her little dove tattoo. 

Inspecting the reflection carefully, Allegra saw that he had seamlessly incorporated ‘Faith’ along the graceful arch of the dove’s second wing.  Faith, Hope and Love were now all represented in her tattoo as well as her life. 

“Perfect,” she approved with a wide smile.  “Richie, what do you think?”

Her husband rose from his seat against the wall, gently rocking their daughter in her pink fuzzy blanket as he came to investigate the finished product.  The soulful eyes she fell in love with all those months ago swept over the latest embellishment and his face dimpled.  “It’s looks complete now.  Doesn’t it, Bug?” he cooed.  “Look how pretty your name looks in Mommy’s dove.  Now Mommy and Daddy both have your name with them forever.”

Her eyes misted as he bounced the baby contentedly, patting her bottom as he hummed Puff the Magic Dragon.  Of course his Faith tattoo had been on the scene long before she or the baby had come along, but to emphasize it, he planned to have a cherub put under it, matching the one beside Ava’s name on his opposite shoulder. 

She grinned to herself. 

He was liable to have a whole cherub choir by the time they were finished, if she had her way.

With a nod, Jack slathered the ink with a little petroleum jelly to keep her skin soft and tore off a piece of plastic to seal it.  He was just taping the plastic wrap in place when Allegra’s cell phone pealed from her purse.

“Richie, can you grab that?  I’m almost done.”

“Yes, dear.”  He dug out the instrument echoing with the standard issue iPhone ring that his wife used for calls not in her contact list.  “It’s an out-of-state number,” he remarked, juggling Faith into the crook of his arm so that he could swipe his thumb across the screen.

“Hello?” he answered, waiting for the caller to identify themselves.  “It’s Sambora, not Castanelli, and this is her husband.  Who’s calling?”

She shook her head with a smile, loving how possessive he could be, wanting everyone to know they were his.  She hadn’t told him yet, but she was going to get another tattoo just for him.  Not his name – they’d had that conversation long ago and she knew he wouldn’t want her to do that.  No, this one would be a little tropical sunrise, with “You Are My Sunshine” scripted under it.  It was about as marked as she could get, aside from the autograph he’d laughingly suggested ages ago.

“Sunshine?”  He frowned, holding the phone out to her.  “It’s the Detroit Medical Examiner’s office.”

She absently thanked Jack, who obligingly slipped out of the room, and buttoned her jeans before taking the phone with a matching frown.  “Hello?”

Faith was starting to get a little fussy and Richie paced the small room with her, murmuring soothing nonsense against her cheek while stroking the downy head colored so much like her mother’s.

“Mrs. Sambora?”

“Yes…”

“My name is Dr. Christopher Higgins and I’m with the Detroit Medical Examiner’s Office.  We’re in the process of cleaning up a backlog of files and ran across your name in a file awaiting closure.  You were the victim of a sexual assault last March?”

It seemed like it had been a lifetime ago, not just over a year.

“That’s correct, but the man who did it is dead.”

Richie’s eyes snapped up with concern and Faith began to whimper at the unfamiliar tension in her Daddy’s body.  “Shhh…  It’s okay Bug.”

“Yes ma’am, I’m aware of that, but in order to tie up the loose ends, Philly PD forwarded his DNA sample so that we could compare it to your medical reports and officially close the case.  Somehow this got pushed to the bottom of the pile over and over, and I’m just now getting to it.”

Allegra was still confused, and her brow was furrowed when Richie’s fingers curled around her free hand.  Faith was cradled in his other arm, which he was jiggling lightly to pacify her. 

“Okay, so what does that have to do with me?”

“Well, I’m not really sure how to tell you this.”  The man was clearly uncomfortable with the news he was assigned with delivering.  “But when I compared the DNA sample to the semen sample from the rape kit, it didn’t match.”

Her heart stopped.  Didn’t match?  What did that mean?  None of them had gone to actually see the body.  Was it not Felix?

“What does that mean?  The man who raped me isn’t dead?”

“What’s going on?” Richie whispered, but she shook her head to shush him so that she could hear.

“I didn’t say that ma’am.  The DNA matches up with Felix Oswego in the Federal system and the photos in the file also match the deceased.  The man you identified as your rapist is definitely dead.”

“In that case, forgive me for being impatient, but could just tell me whatever the hell it is you’re telling me?”

A sigh came echoing over the line.  “I need to ask if you had unprotected intercourse with anyone else in the twenty-four hours preceding the rape.”

The most beautiful sex of my life.

“Yes, my husband.”

“Okay, well that’s good.  The files indicate that semen was presented from only one donor, and the deceased suspect was not that donor.”

“The deceased suspect was not that donor…”

Her heart began to race with excitement and her eyes welled with unshed tears, causing Richie to finally burst out, “Dammit, what is it?”

She shook her head again, ponytail whipping with the vehemence.  “Wait a minute.  My daughter was conceived during that time, but we elected not to do a paternity test.  Are you saying…?”

“We’d have to do a confirming DNA test, but based on what you’ve said and the test results in my hand, I’m ninety percent certain that it would positively identify your husband as the father.  And the ten percent doubt is eradicated by the piece of evidence that appeared after Mr. Oswego’s death.”

“What evidence?”

Richie was growing impatient and agitated, Faith becoming accordingly disgruntled as her father squeezed a little more firmly than usual.  At her squeak of protest, he murmured, “Sorry, Bug.”

“A surveillance video of the employee break room surfaced about a month ago.  No one really bothered to review the footage since the case was unofficially closed, but because of the unusual lab results I thought someone should look at it.”

“And?”  Allegra was getting impatient now.  This guy needed to spit out everything he knew before she came through the phone and pulled it from him one word at a time.

“First of all, totally off the record, I’d like to express my admiration for your bravery and fortitude.  You put up a hell of a fight, and I’d say that’s why he wasn’t able to… finish what he started.”

“He didn’t finish?  You mean…?”

Slipping back into professional mode, the medical examiner stated, “The perpetrator was physically unable to complete the act of sexual intercourse.”

Her eyes darted to Richie, who had been burning her with his stare during the entire course of the conversation.  She smiled radiantly into his scowling face.

“Dr. Higgins, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your call.  Is there anything else you need from me?”

“No ma’am, I just wanted to make you aware of the final findings before the case was officially put to rest.  Happy Holidays to you and your family.”

“Yes, I believe they’ll very happy.  The same to you.”

“Well?”  Richie didn’t even wait for her finger to disconnect the call before pouncing and demanding, “What the hell was that about?  Who was that?”

“It was God,” she told him, placing a tender palm against his worried face before glancing Heavenward and smiling serenely.  “Rewarding our faith with a little gift.”

Shifting her gaze down to their now content daughter, Allegra laughed out loud seeing that Faith had just bestowed her own gift upon Mommy and Daddy.  Her first smile – complete with a dimple in her left cheek.

  

The End