Title: Staying

Category: Vampire Diaries

Characters: Tyler and Caroline, Damon, mentions of Jules, Elena, Stefan, and Carol Lockwood

Summary: Tyler is leaving with Jules, but Caroline gets a heads up from Elena and stops him with Damon's help.

AN: I own nothing belongs to the creators of the show and the books. I found this on my computer from months ago hope you enjoy.

AN 2: This was previously posted on Live Journal

Staying

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Caroline knew she didn't have a chance going at this alone, but Elena and Stefan were still at the cabin. Jeremy and Bonnie were doing something together by now. It left one person to help her she thought. She knew that Damon wanted to kill Tyler probably, but he wouldn't because of Elena. She knew he'd wanted to kill her too, but because of Elena he didn't.

Elena had called her given her a heads up on Tyler's plans. They'd told him everything that they knew and he was going to leave now. He was leaving with Jules when he got back. She'd been trying to get him to go and this had been the last straw for him.

That had given her twenty minutes to reason with Damon. She'd finally sold him on the plan when she said that Jules could get Tyler to her side of thinking. She knew that Tyler didn't know who to trust right now, he'd only gone along with it because he didn't want to turn any more. She wondered now if Brady had intimidated him in doing it. She was thankful that Brady was dead with Tyler's help. Even if Tyler was confused helping kill Brady had proved who he was really loyal too.

She knew that he'd show up unless he wanted to get his butt kicked for taking her phone. Caroline still owed him a good lecture for that one. However, she would forgive him because she'd been lost too at one point. She knew what it felt like not wanting to be who you were anymore.

"Why am I doing this again, because I don't see a reason," Damon complained.

"I told you, she could corrupt him with her ideas," Caroline said, "You love Elena everybody knows this that isn't blind and I…" she sighed somewhere along the way of helping Tyler had turned into loving him. Correction falling in love with him was what she'd done. She'd wanted to take everything she said back the second she slammed that door. She was his friend; she'd always be his friend. "I know that if you didn't threaten to kill me all the time you wouldn't care about me either," it had to be some kind of truth in that. Damon had laid off the threats lately which she was glad of, "I need your help Damon, because I can't lose Tyler okay, because of Jules I'm going lose him like you lost Rose," she knew not the best way to get it across because Tyler wasn't going to die, but it was the truth.

"Let's make this clear, I'm not doing this for him," Damon said glaring at her. He'd wanted to kill Caroline when she first turned, but she'd grown on him. She was better now than she'd been as that insecure teenager girl. She was stronger, he liked her being around. They had actually managed to be friends even after she'd kicked his ass that first night. "Fine, where are we going?"

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Caroline was about to say something when she felt something a pulling at her heart. She knew what it meant, she'd felt it for days when he was near. "No where because he's here," she said telling Damon to stay she went to the door opening it seeing Tyler put her phone back in the mailbox. She grabbed his arm and at vamp speed had him in the house.

Tyler didn't expect the door to open because she'd told him to get lost pretty much. He didn't expect her to grab him. It took him a second to catch up when she ran them in the house. "What are you doing?"

"We're going have talk okay, and this is neutral ground so no picking a fight," Caroline said she didn't need a fight between Damon and him. "I take it back, I was hurt that you didn't help me, but I'll never take our friendship away," she'd told herself it was all honesty and that meant pouring out her heart. She needed Damon in case Jules didn't take the hint when she convinced Tyler to stay. Damon wasn't scared of her; he could take her like that if she didn't have Vervian or wood bullets.

"I don't belong here anymore Caroline," he didn't really think that, but he didn't know how to deal with what he was. He hated feeling like this, he didn't want be a werewolf any more. He was stuck with it now because he couldn't get Elena killed.

"Yes you do Tyler, Jules won't be there like I was, she's a werewolf too, she turns, she can't tell you it's going to be okay," she highly doubted Jules was any kind of mother figure. Hell she had half mind to call Mrs. Lockwood if this didn't work. "She's not going to help you chain yourself up, you don't want to get anybody killed," she knew that it had been Jules that killed those campers because no vampire could have. She knew her mom thought it was a vampire, but nope it was Jules.

Tyler didn't look at her; he hadn't thought that far ahead of this. He just didn't want to be like this any more. He'd seen the cage in the camper; he'd thought it was for that, then again it might have been just for Caroline. "I can do it myself,"

Caroline didn't know what to say, he was pulling away now, "Tyler you have friends here, a family that loves you, okay, you have me here, I'd do anything to make this better for you, I'll stay there every full moon with you, if you need time we can go away for the weekend somewhere any where," she didn't know where that would be or why she was willing to runaway with him, but she was. She'd do anything to keep him here because she cared more than that she-wolf ever would.

"I could kill you, I almost did," he said, "I can't risk killing you, Caroline," he loved her too much to risk her life. He didn't want to go though; he really hated Jules for what she'd done. It was a revenge streak on her longer than he probably knew.

"We can fix the cellar up, I'm sure Bonnie could even find some kind of spell make sure you don't get out," Damon said, he was tired of this neither one of them were making any progress. It was too obvious now that the two of them were in love. The way they were right now he could see it because he wasn't blind."Don't give me that look, I have no intentions on killing you, as long you don't hurt her," he said seeing Tyler's glare. He got his payback for Mason; Rose was dead now because of that.

Caroline thought for a second before she had another idea, "Alaric, our history teacher, he's not just teacher, he's this vampire hunter too," she went on telling him about the Vervian darts that Ric had. She figured he could substitute Wolfsvain instead of the Vervian. "It could work, you wouldn't have to drink it any more, and if you go then we can't help you," she couldn't tell if he was giving in or not yet.

"Why do you want to help me so bad, you killed Mason," Tyler said looking at Damon, Elena told him that Caroline had no part in that. Damon was the one that killed Mason.

Damon could give the usual like about enemies closer than friends, but that wasn't it. He'd do anything to make Elena happy. "You leaving is a bad idea, nobody can make sure you don't wind up dead out there," he didn't really trust Elijah to keep Elena safe, and he wasn't willing to risk sending Tyler off with Jules to have her get him to think her way. It would end up bad for all of them.

"You really expect me to believe you care if I'm dead or alive, you handed me over to Jules," Tyler said.

"I told you to go over there, how was I supposed to get Caroline back other wise?" Damon asked, he was getting pissed off. "YOU DIDN'T SAVE HER," he shouted making Caroline jump okay maybe Damon hadn't been the best bet. Damon was beside Tyler in a split second before they were both against one of the walls. "You didn't follow the damn plan,"

"Damon, don't," she shouted at him.

"Were you going to let her die there? She for some reason likes you, me I could careless if you lived or died," Caroline's way just wasn't working, "She trusted you too, and you left her standing there to die, she might have lied to you, but I had planed on kill you if she didn't," he was still pissed off about Rose, but he wouldn't hurt Tyler not as much as he wanted to hurt Jules.

Tyler was trying to force him off, but Damon was stronger than Stefan had been even if he couldn't get him off either. "Get off me,"

"Damon, please don't hurt him, you said you'd help me get him stay not force him to leave faster," Caroline said trying to pull Damon away from Tyler.

"You hesitated to save her, you know it reminds me of what Mason did," Damon said telling Tyler what his Uncle had done, "He wanted to break Elena's neck, what you think about that, he would have gotten Caroline killed too," Elena had told Stefan what happened, which was one the biggest reason's Damon went after Mason. You don't mess with Elena and get away with it.

Caroline could see Tyler's eyes turning yellow; he was getting mad right now. She didn't know why Damon was doing this. "Stop it, he didn't have nothing to do with hurting Elena, he saved her, Damon, he helped Stefan save Elena, he's not Mason," Tyler would never be Mason, because Katherine had used Mason to get the moonstone, she'd planned it out before coming back here. Caroline would never use him, not like Jules had.

Damon let go of his hold, but didn't back away, "You're not leaving with Jules, because you are not going to turn into Mason," he wasn't going to let that bitch get Tyler on her side, he was head of the council now, "Your mom made me head of the council, and this I'm going to pay her back," Damon was gone in the blink of an eye.

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"Where's he going?" Tyler asked looking at Caroline.

"I don't know I needed help getting you to stay, because I couldn't talk you into staying and watch my back," this hadn't gone as planned. She turned around trying not to cry again, she was losing Tyler. "I know you're scared, I know that you don't want this, I don't want be a vampire either, but I am, I'm stuck with this for life too," she wanted to take it back, restart the year. "I was used as a pawn too, Tyler, I left that out because I didn't tell you about the others, Katherine threatened somebody that I loved if I didn't help her," she didn't love Matt like she had; she didn't think that she ever could again. She was in love with Tyler.

She didn't have to hide from Tyler, pretend to be normal, he didn't get scared of her vampire face, he didn't judge her for the cravings she had. He hadn't been grossed out when she'd been drinking blood. She knew he was still standing there; he could have left when she turned around. However, Tyler was still there. She looked down at the duffel bag that was on the floor now. Damon throwing Tyler against the wall had made him drop it. She knew how close she was to loosing him, the bag was full and he was willing to go.

"Who'd she threaten?" Tyler asked, his eyes were their normal brown again. He could hear Caroline's voice change; he knew he was hurting her all over.

"It doesn't matter now because Katherine's locked up, she can't get to any of you," she knew that the person Katherine would be after would be Tyler if she was out of the tomb. It had been Matt then, but now it probably would be Tyler. She wasn't going to bring Matt into this; she'd gone back and told him that she couldn't be with him. She'd fallen for Tyler, she knew she'd hurt him. It was better to be honest though, Matt deserved it instead of her leading him on.

"I'm sorry I didn't help you, I froze and before I could do anything that dude showed up," he was glad that he did come, because he didn't know how it would have gone without that guy there. He didn't want to think about Caroline being dead. It hurt too much to even see that idea. "I'll never stop hating myself for what I did, or didn't do,"

"I never wanted to lie to you, Tyler, because I somehow knew this would happen, you'd find out and…" she paused, "But I never thought that it would be like this, that you'd leave me, everybody leaves me, or some how I push them away," she heard the words coming out about her dad leaving, that she'd pushed Matt away for life. " Sure I got Damon and Stefan, but they're not you, they don't understand this," she had the urge inside of her to kill all the time. She fought it with everything she had. Stefan had controlled it for so long, Damon drank blood. "I promised not to leave you alone in all this, if you leave then I can't keep that promise, and I'll be alone too," she couldn't stop the tears any more; they were pouring out because she didn't want to be alone. "You can't abandon me, Tyler you just can't,"

He didn't deserve her, he almost let her die, but he gave in to the need to make her feel better. He pulled her close hugging her. He'd felt abandoned when his dad died, when Mason disappeared. How could he put her through that? He knew that feeling because even though he'd had his friends there he'd still felt alone in this. That was till he confronted Caroline, till he got her to tell him the truth. She'd been there like nobody ever had in his life.

Caroline held him back; she just hoped he didn't leave her still. She knew if he was a normal guy she'd probably crushed him by now she was hugging him so tight. She had to know he was still there; he wouldn't leave her after she was asleep. "We can fix this, because I don't want throw our friendship away, I won't lie any more, because I just can't lose you,"

Any reason he had to leave was falling away. He couldn't keep her safe if he left, not really because there'd be somebody else to hurt her. He would be one those people if he walked away now. When his feelings for Caroline turned from friendship to something more he didn't exactly know. It could have been when she told him what happened to her. He knew when he'd seen her the morning after he turned for the first time, that he felt more for her. She'd risked her life for him; nobody else would have stayed as long as she had. They would have run farther than the woods; they might never have come with him.

Tyler picked her up carrying her over to the couch and sat down with her. He held her in his arms ignoring the phone in his pocket. He wasn't leaving with Jules, he couldn't leave with her. Caroline needed him more. Here he might end up dead one day, but he'd take that risk. He knew Caroline was asleep, she was still in his arms. The fact she didn't have to breathe meant she never moved when she slept; at least not around him.

He'd deal with everything tomorrow with his mom, but right now he couldn't. He needed to be here, "I'll never hesitate again," he promised. He looked up knowing somebody was standing in the doorway of the living room. Damon was watching him; he didn't know what he'd done, and something told him he didn't want to know.

"She's not dead, but if she comes back I'm sure that you're mom's going to have first go at her," Damon said, he'd made it clear that Tyler wasn't leaving. He'd wanted to kill Jules but he didn't she'd left after he promised to tell Carol Lockwood what she'd planned on doing. Running away with the Mayor's son was not something the bitch would have gotten away with. "You hurt Caroline; I will be the one you answer to. Do you understand me?"

Tyler nodded, for some reason he believed that Damon wouldn't think twice on hurting him. Damon had killed Mason, wanted to kill him, and he was stronger than him. He couldn't fight him, he didn't want to either. He just wanted to protect Caroline from anything that would hurt her. Even if he'd thought before that leaving would do that he was wrong.

"Oh and you got some serious explaining to do to your mom tomorrow," Damon said before he left them alone. He'd gotten the call from Carol; he'd promised her that Tyler wasn't going anywhere. He'd told her where he was and that Caroline was talking sense into him. That was all she needed to know because werewolves and vampires was not a subject that needed to be brought into this.

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The End