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"Just... come back in a few days or..."Kitty was visibly fighting with herself. She wanted the warmth and affection, the comfort of knowing someone was there to help her get through all this, but she did not want him stepping all over her like he had been doing for weeks. What kind of a person could help you if you could barely look at them?
Finally, nearly at a yell, Kitty spoke with more fervor. "Just... go!"

She could call Jess and have her come home. That would be all the comfort she needed.

Kitty turned once to see if he was still there. Her heart had suddenly felt very sorry for yelling at him when he was trying to help, but he was gone. Just like she had wanted him to be.
She flipped open her communicator, seeing that it was Jess calling to see if she was alright.
"J-Jess--" she started saying, but her crying cut her off any more. But once she pulled herself together enough to speak, there was no stopping through her tears.
"Jess, it was all a lie. He was a fake, and now the shop's ruined, but it wasn't his fault and--"
And she went on to tell the entire story, whether she was understood or not.

"I'm fine," she said, smiling in relief. She had called the police in the mean time, so she knew she was safe in two ways.
"But Jess... he tried to stop everything. He did. But whoever it was got mad and... they did this." Her hands swept across her tattered shop, shaking. "But I told him to leave. His real name's Samson, and I told him to leave."

Alex suddenly came onto the scene, utterly breathless and looking rather pale.
"Jeez, you can run in heels..." he breathed, but everything just stopped when he saw the shop. Cop sirens reeled in the distance, making Alex wonder just how this would all turn out. The robbery was long over, but the cops were just getting there then...
"Kitty," he said, now completely agitated. "Where is he? Where's that lying b*****d?"
But she didn't know any more than he did. Samson, whether she liked it or not, had left. Maybe he would return in a few days, maybe not, but Kitty for some strange reason wanted him back.

"Alright..."
Alex came to stand by the two women and put a hand on their backs. He would stand by and protect them, and the cops would take care of everything else. Together they'd clean up the shop, and get things moving once more.
The real fear that Kitty had, though, was that the damage couldn't be covered and they'd have to close the shop for good. But that couldn't happen... Not after all the place had been through.

---

And so the weeks passed, filled with paperwork, and lots and lots of cleaning. Kitty felt overwhelmed and heart-broken throughout it all, and people noticed the change. She became more level-headed, quieter, but didn't lose her sweetness. Kitty was just subdued, and wishing it would all just take care of itself.

The community, however, was moving things right along whether she wanted to deal with it or not. People from neighboring shops and friends came over every day to help her sort through the mess, and within days, things were looking better than it did before. In a few weeks, the shop was tidy and glistening with all the TLC it could get.

Kitty, however, was still lacking her bubbly glow. She wanted to see Samson, just to see if he was alright. Sometimes she watched people carefully just to see if maybe he was playing another character to be near her, but no one ever shared his features. No one was Samson.

Alex was on the watch for him, too, but for an entirely different reason. He wanted to knock the stuffing out of him for everything he'd ever done. For taking advantage of Jess, for bringing this attention to the shop. Kitty kept insisting he didn't plan it or want the shop to be ransacked the way it had, but Alex wouldn't forgive him so easily.

He still believed Kitty had been just stupid to have been swept away so easily, but as he got to know her, he found it was just that she had a large heart. Sometimes she would collapse under the weight with everything she did for people, even when her shop was under construction, and he would find her sniffling in her apartment. Luckily that space hadn't been touched, and so it became her haven of order.

Now, though, with everything back and damages being paid off, Alex had to say things were much better. Kitty, he believed, would get over it and move on.
Hopefully.

Alex was helping out on his day off, though by helping out, he was really just serving as good company. He saw this strange character walking around the shop, though, and picked his head up from the book he was reading.
There was something familiar about him.
"Do you need help finding anything, sir?" he asked, trying to pass himself off as an employee. Kitty was in the back room, still trying to restore old books that had been damaged further in the robbery. Though most people were very kind during her time of trials, she still had a few people to please.

Alex stood up and acted like he was putting his book back on the shelf. The shop was empty save for this fellow...
His eyes scanned the profile he saw, and there was no mistaking it. This was the guy who ordered the brownie at the cafe, the guy who rushed Kitty away. He was just in a different get-up.
"You're Samson, aren't you?" he asked, trying his best not to scare him away or seem threatening.