Taking away her phone did not go well and tension continued to build between mother and daughter. Alexis was at a loss. She had never fought like this with Addison before and she had truly hoped she wouldn't repeat mistakes she had made with Kristen. As tension built between her and her daughter, tension was also building between her and her husband. ELQ, and all things Quartermaine were a sore spot in their marriage lately and neither of them could figure out where the middle ground was. Despite it all, they had to work together to help Addison bring this conflict with Joss to a close. They hoped that meeting with Jax and Carly, might bring the four adults together, so that everyone was on the same page about their daughters' online behavior. Set limits, find a way to get them to at least co-exist without being hurtful to each other and so they arranged to meet at Kelly's.

"Thanks for meeting us." Ned said as Jax and Carly joined them at the table in Kelly's. He was thankful Jax was still in town. It would hopefully make things go a bit more smoothly.

"What's going on? You said it involved the girls." Jax responded, it was unusual that his friends would want to meet with him and Carly.

"It does. Carly, do you have any idea what your daughter has been up to?" Alexis immediately jumped down her throat. She wasn't going to let anyone hurt her little girl.

"You did not just imply what is happening is all on Josslyn, did you?" Carly asked incredulously, but in truth really had no idea what was going on. Joss seemed fine and Alexis had a tendency towards being over protective and controlling. Whatever it was, couldn't be that big a deal.

"She's been harassing our daughter. Calling her a social retard on social media. Did you know that?" Alexis asked, straight to the point.

"Girls their age are going to be mean, Alexis. It's what they do. I'm certain it wasn't unprovoked. Your kids aren't always as innocent as you seem to think they are."

"You're right, Addison isn't innocent, I've seen what she said, but Joss has perpetuated it. Gotten other kids to do her dirty work. It needs to stop, my daughter deserves to feel welcome at school."

"I'm not going to meddle in harmless teenage drama. The girls need to learn how to manage this themselves." Carly responded. "Interfering isn't going to teach them how to navigate situations like this in the future."

"Harmless? Do you have any idea what's being passed around these social media apps? This isn't just going to haunt Addison, it can and will come back at Joss."

"Please, no one needs a lecture on internet safety from Port Charles' soul-mated, unicorn couple." Carly spat.

"Ha, that's good." Alexis said, slightly amused as she shifted uncomfortably and looked at Ned.

"What's the problem? Trouble in paradise?" Carly asked, picking up on the moment of awkwardness that just transpired.

"This isn't about our marriage. This is about the girls and helping them solve their conflict appropriately. "

"Well I think they are capable of managing it. You're making this into something bigger than it is. I trust my kid, you should do the same," Carly said.

"Will you say something, please?" Alexis looked at Ned, surprised he hadn't spoken up, yet.

"Jax, maybe just talk to Joss about leaving Addie alone for a bit? No one is saying they need to be best friends." He ignored Carly. There was no point.

"Let things die down?" Jax asked in agreement.

"Exactly." Ned said.

"They have a point, Carly," Jax said.

"Of course, side with your favorite ex-wife." Carly said, agitated.

"You have to admit, our daughter can respond a bit impulsively and then double-down." Jax tried to explain.

"I wonder where she gets that from." Ned said sarcastically.

"That's not helpful." Jax said, knowing his friend was no fan of Carly.

"Look, I think we can all agree we want what's best for both girls. No one wants to see either of them in pain or dig themselves in deeper here." Alexis said.

"We can." Carly said.

"We'll talk to Joss, Alexis." Jax said. "I'll let you know how it goes, But you do the same, ok? Get Addie to back off as well."

"We have and we will again." Ned agreed. They said goodbye and Jax and Carly left them sitting at the table in Kelly's. "That went as well as could be expected."

"I agree. We'll see if it makes a difference." She said and then took a sip of her coffee.

"Lex?" She looked at him waiting for him to expand as she drank her coffee. "Why can't you just give her the phone back? Thanksgiving break has come and gone. Don't you think extending it like this because she's acting exactly how any kid her age would is making things worse between you?"

She sighed and put the mug down. "She needs to know there are limits, Ned. She can't just do whatever she pleases."

"I agree, but we said three days. It's been a week." He tried to be rational. He knew she wanted to protect her from this, but this was the world they lived in now.

"Did she come to you?" She asked, curious if their daughter was trying to play them against each other. A tactic Kristen used to try to use all the time.

"No. I just think maybe you've taken this to an extreme. She lived with the consequence. All she did was ask for it back when we said we'd give it to her."

"When I said I'd give it to her. You didn't want anything to do with this, remember?" He looked at her, a look that said don't go there. "She needs to agree to get off that app. She's too young. It's not good for her mental health. You saw what it did to her."

"Honey, she'll be even more isolated and isn't that worse? You heard her and Owen, and they're right. I have to believe that she's learned from what happened. And…"

"And?"

"And I know fighting with her like this is as hard on you as it is on her. At the end of the day, she may idolize me, but you're the parent she opens up to more."

"You jealous?" She asked, he was used to being the one their kids sought out.

"No, not jealous. Just concerned that you're closing off a pathway of communication. For us to help her she needs to be able to come to at least one of us. I don't want to see your relationship with her breakdown the way it did with-"

"Kristen. I know I've thought about it. I swore I wouldn't repeat those mistakes. It took Krissy and I a long time to reach a level of mutual understanding."

"I know. I lived through it because I'm–"

"The parent Krissy goes to more often than not. Trust me, I know."

"Now who's jealous?" Her eyes met his as she took another sip of her coffee. "Just please think about what I said."

"I'll think about it. I promise." They finished their coffee and headed their separate ways. Both avoiding talking about their professional lives. Both fearing it would result in another fight about ELQ or her late hours recently. She had decided to work from home. With Ned at L and the kids at school, it was certain to be free from disruption and she didn't want a chance encounter with Sonny, yet again showing up to request she represent him or Morgan. There was enough going on in her life. Mid morning she heard the front door close. She was surprised he was home already. He walked into the office and stood behind her.

She was working from home, his meeting at L was canceled and he thought maybe, just maybe they could figure out what was going on between them and bring their own conflict to an end. The brief but uncomfortable moment that exchanged between them at Kelly's when Carly alluded to problems played over again in his mind. The kids were at school and they'd have the morning to hash out what had really been going on between them. He kissed the top of her head and squeezed her shoulders, standing behind her as she worked.

"You want to talk?" She asked, knowing him, she could read him without even looking at him.

"I do. If you need to finish that though…" He said as he kissed her head again.

"No, it's ok. It can wait. What is it?" She asked, turning around and taking off her glasses.

"Can we please revisit the conversation we started about ELQ?"

"What about it?" She was confused. She had been clear and it was a black and white issue as far as she was concerned.

"Why don't you want to work with me everyday?" He asked, slightly hurt because that was the only conclusion he could draw from why she had been pushing him away and refusing to budge.

"Is that what you think this is about?" She asked as she stood and questioned, concerned.

"What else could it possibly be about?" He truly didn't understand and was trying hard not to take it personally.

She hesitated and then looked at the photo of them sitting on the desk, smiles on both their faces, his arms wrapped around her,. "What about our life together has ever indicated to you that I want to become the stereotypical Q wife?" She named it. She said it out loud. The one thing that had scared her from the very beginning.

"That's not what I want from you or for our life together." He was truly taken aback.

"Isn't it? You want me to vote with you, you want me to come work at ELQ, the next thing you know you'll want to move us all into the mansion." She said, raising her voice a bit as she started to make her own point. She didn't mean to escalate it into a full blown fight, but that's where she took them anyway.

"You're being absurd." He had no idea where this was coming from.

"I'm calling it as I see it." She said simply.

"I can't talk to you when you're like this." He grew frustrated. She was putting up a wall.

"Then don't." She said, trying to be indifferent.

"I'll be at L ."

"Good. Great, go ahead and go. When things don't go your way you take off. It's what you do." She knew that wasn't his intention. Deep down she knew he was trying to give them space to calm down. But it was too easy to press each other's buttons when they argued.

"At least I'm not flagging down a semi!" He said and instantly regretted it as he walked towards the front door and left, leaving her standing there shocked that he would even go there. A clear sign of just how bad things had actually gotten between them lately.

Thank god for her laptop. She was able to access myFace and contact Cam through direct messages when she wasn't on the school wifi. They made plans to study that week at his house. She didn't need her mother meddling anymore than she already was and every time they fought about it she extended the time that she didn't have her phone. It was infuriating, but tolerable, unbeknownst to her mother because there were other devices to use to stay connected. When she told her dad she had plans with Cam, he didn't even question how they'd gotten in touch. Her dad had been staying pretty neutral about the whole thing, which she appreciated, and suspected was because she had overheard him tell her mother on Thanksgiving he didn't agree with taking away her phone in the first place. She was glad she heard that. It made it easier to talk to him and feel like she had someone she could go to if things really did implode.

Christmas would be here before they all knew it, which meant that Kristen would be home from school and they'd be on vacation until the new year. She still wasn't talking to her sister, and she kind of missed her, but she would not be the one to cave in first. Even if it made the holidays awkward, Krissy was wrong and until she admitted that, she would not give her the time of day.

She sat on the floor with her friend as they both worked on their separate homework assignments. "Cam, what's it like being the oldest?" She asked, avoiding the math problem she was working on.

"I don't know. Why?" It was a very random question.

"Just wondering."

"What's on your mind, Adds? You're not comparing yourself to your sister again, are you?" He knew his friend, but he also knew there had been a huge falling out. She had told him everything and he agreed. Her sister didn't know what it was like and shouldn't have gone to her parents.

"No, I just want to understand why she felt the need to tell my parents what was going on. That's all. Before she comes home, and I'll have to deal with her again. Before she blows up my life again."

"Well in my experience you have to be the responsible one. You make sure your siblings are ok and there's some level of expectation that you set a good example. But my family is different. My mom is amazing, but she's by herself. I feel like sometimes I need to look out for her, too. You're lucky that way. Your parents have been together your entire life."

"I know. Almost every single kid at school has divorced parents or parents who are about to be. Do you miss your dad?"

"I mean I never met my real dad, so it's hard to say. And Lucky, he was around when I was little, and I thought of him as my dad for a long time. But, he lives in Ireland now and I'm not so sure anymore, since he's never around."

"I'm sorry, Cam. That sucks."

"What's it like having both parents around? I've always wondered how it would be different."

"It's usually nice, but my parents have been fighting a lot. Ever since my great-grandfather died. I don't get it, but you were right. I have them both. Even if they are fighting with each other. Hey, you know my mom used to represent your dad, I think anyway. I bet she could tell you about him."

"That's ok, I know enough and Emily gave me some pictures."

"Emily is the best." She agreed. "Do you think you could try and help me figure out this math problem?" She asked as they made eye contact. His eyes were so blue. Stop. Stop it. He's your best friend.

"Of course." He replied, welcoming the break from his own homework and he slid closer to her. Close enough he could smell her hair. She smelled like summer. Stop that. She's just your friend, he reminded himself as he took her notebook and they worked through the problem together.