Cat and Kara spend the holidays with their family and friends and while Kara decorates a tree for Christmas in her little book shop she gets sadder with each person that walks by holding a bag from Grant Books.

"It's coming on Christmas. They're cutting down trees. Do you know that Joni Mitchell song? I wish I had a river I could skate away on. Such a sad song. And not really about Christmas at all. But I was thinking about it tonight as I was decorating my Christmas tree. Unwrapping funky ornaments made of popsicle sticks...and missing my mother so much i almost couldn't breathe. I always miss my mother at Christmas. But somehow it is worse this year since I need some advice from her. I need her to make me some cocoa...and tell me that everything that's going badly in my life will sort itself out." ~Shopgirl

"What kind of advice do you need? Can I help?" ~NY152

"Can you help? I wish you could help. I wish…" ~Shopgirl

"I can give you advice. I'm great at advice." ~NY152

"If you could help." ~Shopgirl

"Is is about love?" ~NY152

"No, my business is in trouble." ~Shopgirl

"I'm a brilliant businesswoman. It's what I do best. What's your business?" ~NY152

"No specifics. Remember?" ~Shopgirl

"Well, minus specifics, it's hard to help except to say...go to the mattresses. It's from The Godfather. It means you have to go to war. You're at war. It's not personal, it's business. Recite that to yourself every time you feel you're losing your nerve. I know you worry about being brave. Don't. This is your chance. Fight! Fight to the death." ~NY152

Kara reads over that last part and before she can repeat it to herself James comes up, she quickly shuts her laptop as James flops on the bed. Kara sits up straight, "Do you think it would be a conflict of interest if you wrote about the store?"

"No."

"So you'll write about it?"

"Yes."

"Oh, James, thank you so much!"

A day or two later after James has written his article for Kara's little shop around the corner she finds the shop swarming with customers. Fans of the little shop old signs and chant outside Grant Books telling them to go away. And fight Kara does, doing speeches and tv spots to get message out about the little shop around the corner.

Cat and Lois see Kara on the tv screen as they're running on tredmills at the gym, "You know she's not as nice as she seems on TV. She's a real pill."

"Probably doesn't look as beautiful as she does on TV either."

Cat glances at her, "Oh, no, no. She's beautiful. But she's a pill."

"You don't feel bad about sending her ass back to the projects with food stamps?"

"It's not personal, it's business."

Lois shakes her head, "Yeah, yeah."

"People want to turn her into Joan of Arc…."

"And you into Attila the Hun."

"Well, not me but the company yeah.

Over the next few days as customers dwindle down and the money is counted and the books are done the money they've made doesn't make a bit of difference for the shop. She thinks about what her mother would've done and can't think of anymore she can do to save her little shop.

"I need help. Do you still want to meet?" ~Shopgirl

Cat smiles at the screen and types her reply.

"I would love to meet you. Where? When?" ~NY152