Title: Joint Decision

Category: Vampire Diaries

Characters: Caroline and Tyler, Matt

Summary: Caroline and Matt decide that they should break up at the same time while she's in the hospital.

Status: Complete

AN: I do not own anything sadly. I wrote this story two years ago about August 23 hope enjoy.

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Chapter 2

Present Time

Caroline shook her head coming back to the present thankful that she was alive. She was sure that she'd been close to dying, but she hadn't thankfully. She remembered getting into the car with Tyler; she remembered what lead to the car crash, but nothing after the fact. All she could think was please don't let Tyler die. She didn't think about herself or if anybody else had been hurt all she could think about was Tyler.

He was her best friend and even if he threw everything upside down, she couldn't live without him in her life. She reached out taking his hand because he was right against her bed with the chair. "I love you too, I wanted it to be you taking me home," she wished that he was awake so she could talk to him. "I am sorry I hurt you so much, it's the last thing I wanted, and I'm going to talk to Matt," she knew that she had to talk to him. She might be in the hospital, but she had to talk to him. She couldn't let him keep living with the idea they were okay anymore.

She had never gotten to tell Tyler that she loved him too. He'd gotten her brain all in a dizzy spell and she had forgotten what he'd said until now. She did love him, the things he did for her wasn't all best friend love either, and she had to let him know it too. The moment he woke up she was going to tell him she did love him. He was so good to her and she hadn't been to him with the way things had went.

The door to the room opened and she looked up seeing Matt walking in. She moved her hand back hoping that he didn't see it. She had wanted to talk to him the night before and she'd been fixing too when she'd gotten up and between Tyler and his dad. She was always doing the saving and she just wanted to be the one saved this time. Why was she going to have to break Matt's heart because she loved Tyler instead?

"Hey," they said at the same time.

"I tried to see you earlier, but you were still sleeping," Matt was surprised that Tyler was still there. He figured he would have gone home to deal with his dad's death, but he hadn't. "Have you talked to him yet?"

"I just woke up," Caroline said wondering when the right time was for her to tell Matt they needed to break up.

"I don't want to do this to you right now," Matt started, how low could it be to break up with her now. He couldn't keep trying to replace Elena with her; it was obvious that Caroline and he weren't going to work. He had started seeing it a while ago and it had nothing to do with what his mom had been saying either.

He hadn't had to have Tyler tell him that last night when they were sitting in the waiting room. He knew that his best friend was in love with his girlfriend, he wasn't blind. He wondered why he hadn't fault harder to keep Caroline. Tyler had told him everything while they were waiting once he came back after he'd thought he left at first.

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Tyler wasn't big on being so open or showing him any kind of real emotions. He'd watched his best friend close to tears last night thinking it was his entire fault she was here. They had went to get something to drink and eat in the cafeteria while Caroline was still in surgery. Somewhere between the first soda and the last of the fries they'd split Tyler told him how he felt. He'd even told him about what happened in the locker room saying it was his punishment, her ending up here, for what he'd tried to do. He'd already forgiven him for everything else that had happened. Matt just didn't see a reason in taking a swing when Tyler already felt so down in the dumps.

They had been friends since kindergarten when Tyler had sat down beside him because he'd been sitting alone. That was who Tyler was deep down behind all the walls he put up over the years. He would do anything for his friends and he'd help you out if you needed it. He hadn't known what to think the first time he'd gotten invited over to play, but knew one thing, Tyler wasn't the spoiled rich kid. He wouldn't get something because he could or had to have it.

Tyler never asked for anything in return for all the things that he'd done for him. Matt knew that there was probably a mile long list, but he never asked for any favors. He figured he owed him one now, the one thing his best friend wanted, and he owed Caroline because he really wasn't treating Caroline the best he could.

"I think we should break up," he said it at the same time that she did looking at her.

"I didn't want to hurt you either," Caroline said, "I have tried to make this work, but…"

"You feel like second best?" Matt asked using what Tyler had told him to finish her sentence. He really never meant for her to feel that way.

He'd only loved one girl and he didn't have a chance with her again, he just needed time to sort everything out. He couldn't make Caroline wait or put the only person he had left that felt like family, through hell. He used to have his grandpa when his mom wasn't around. He'd had Vicki too, but he'd never really had a mom, well Elena's parents had been like his own. All of their friends had felt like they were the one set of parents that treated them all like their own. When they died they all lost the only real parents they had.

Caroline nodded, "I'm sorry too, I kept going because I didn't know when to tell you," She couldn't do it when his sister had just died. She would not be that person because it was just horrible to do that to a person. "I guess I can't exactly be good at everything," she looked down not wanting to meet his gaze.

Matt lifted her chin up, "I'm just as much to blame, I want you to be happy Caroline," he'd threatened to beat Tyler's ass down if he ever hurt her. He kissed her forehead before stepping back, "Don't be afraid to give him hell, and he told me about the locker room last night," she should know what was said, but from what he was told Tyler had already confessed to her. "I'm not mad at him anymore," he added before he told her to get better leaving the room.

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Caroline was lying on her back watching Tyler sleep when he finally opened his eyes. It had been two hours since Matt had left the room. She had been trying to think what to do. She didn't want to just jump in his bed like that. She wasn't going to do that either she told herself, but she knew that if he kissed her like he had the night before she'd be doomed.

"You talk in your sleep and you snore," Caroline giggled watching him sit up in the chair. "You said you were going to hump a bunny," she couldn't help but laugh because he hadn't said that. He'd actually said he wasn't going to eat a bunny, but she had no clue why he'd want to eat a harmless bunny.

"What?" Tyler asked half asleep, "I did not say that," he had to think about it for a second because she had gotten him on tape once saying something in his sleep. She had slapped him for what he'd said then though. He just couldn't be held responsible for giving into his dad's receptionist's daughter when she looked that good and kept flirting. The girl had been three years older than they were just getting home from her first year of college. That had been at the beginning of the summer and she'd left before the fourth of July to do something.

"No, but you did say I'm sorry, please don't die," Caroline got up off the bed thankful that the machines had been unhooked an hour ago. "Also something about eating a harmless bunny," She was sore all over still, but she managed to sit on Tyler's lap letting her feet hang over the chair's arm leaning against his shoulder. "I didn't care about me, as long as you were okay," she confessed feeling his arms holding her close. She couldn't help as the tears fell. She'd been holding them in since she'd seen him on the pavement being worked on.

Tyler kissed the top of her head holding her as close and tight as he could without hurting her. "It's okay, Carebear, I'm okay," he let her cry letting his own tears out because he'd been so scared he'd lost her when he'd seen Matt going to her. He wished to God he knew what had happened to him last night, but he didn't. The only thing he knew was his head had been splitting open all at once. "You're going to be okay too,"

"Matt talked to me, we broke up," she let him know it was mutual and that he'd said some of what had been told to him, "I see you two made up too," she had wanted that so badly the night before. It had taken a crash and her life on the line for her to get her wish. "Don't you ever scare the shit out of me like that again," she said closing her eyes feeling sleepy again.

"You better not either," Tyler said back watching her as she smiled against his shoulder. He wasn't going to let anything else happen to her. He'd let her down months ago by not taking her home, he had done it again last night by crashing the car, and he wouldn't do it again he swore he would do better. She was everything to him, he hadn't told her what had happened yet, but he would eventually.

He was just so glad she hadn't died or gone into any kind of code blues. It had been touch and go for so long when she'd first been brought in and he had seen Damon leaving her room when he'd gone to the bathroom the night before when he slipped into her room. He didn't know what the asshole was doing there, but he'd vanished before he could track him down.

He was going to wait about a week before he asked her out not wanting to hurt Matt. It was one thing to break up with a person and say they were okay with it, but another to see it. He'd give him time a week or two should be good. He wouldn't be an ass about it; he wanted to do so much better. Caroline being his best friend had made him better over the last year when he'd wanted to beat somebody up she'd shoved him away. She had gotten between him so many times and she wasn't scared to do it or yell at him. "You're my Angel," he closed his eyes holding her close.

THE END