Take Me Home - Caroline/Tyler (The Vampire Diaries) - PG - 1/1
Title: Take Me Home
Characters/Pairings: Caroline/Tyler, Damon, and Jules
Word Count: 1782
Summary: They understood each other more than anyone else could so when one of them leaves home, the other decides to bring them back.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries or the characters.
Author's Note: Spoilers for the entire second season of the show.
All of them said she was stupid for trying; that it was best to let things go. Jules and her pack had left Mystic Falls and all of them thought it was best to leave them alone. But Caroline Forbes never listened when others told her to do things, and she knew it was her place to bring Tyler home.
It had all started when Mrs. Lockwood came over, asking if she’d seen Tyler. The look in the older woman’s eyes was heartbreaking and Caroline felt for her. Maybe there was a part of her that was still mad at Tyler for believing Jules, but she remembered when she had first became a vampire and how she had allowed Katherine to manipulate her.
The distraught pleas of a mother was enough to push Caroline into action but when Matt told her what Tyler had said, she knew no one was going to stop her from finding him.
Caroline had spent too many nights denying what she felt for Tyler, and denying how wonderful it felt when he’d kissed her. She had denied it because she wanted to be normal, and Matt was normal. He didn’t turn into a beast every full moon, that was capable of killing her.
But she knew she loved Tyler and she was a vampire, which made her life far from safe.
She decided to leave Mystic Falls the day after the full moon. It would give her four weeks to search before she would have to stop, and hide for a night. It was a perfect plan, right down to the note she’d written her mother, telling her she was leaving for a while to look at a few colleges. Her mother would believe it for a while before wondering why her daughter hadn’t returned yet. Hopefully by then Caroline would find Tyler and bring him home.
“You’re going to get yourself killed.”
She was putting the last of her bags in her car when she heard Damon’s voice. Caroline looked at him and shrugged before she shut the trunk of her car.
“And you almost get yourself killed every time you save Elena,” she pointed out before she turned to face him. “I’m going to do this, Damon. Tyler’s being manipulated by Jules and someone has to bring him home.”
Damon took a step closer and gave her his trademark smirk. “After Tyler sold all of us out, and believed Jules, which in turn got you tortured, you still want to be his friend?” he asked before letting out a bitter laugh. “You really are blonde, aren’t you?”
“It’s no different from you pining over Elena, even though she’ll never love you,” Caroline said as she tried her best to keep her anger in check. “Anyway, having Tyler on our side might help.”
Damon didn’t say anything to that; instead, he turned and walked around to the back of her car. Caroline furrowed her brow, wondering what he as doing as he bent down. When he straightened again, he tossed a black duffle bag onto her car.
“Weapons. We aren’t the only vampires out there and there’s a gun in there. Works wonders on werewolves when it isn’t the full moon. But be careful who you make an enemy out of,” he said before he turned and started to walk away.
Caroline stared down at the bag before looking at Damon’s retreating back. “Thanks,” she said before he disappeared.
##
Jules had been wrong. Everything she had ever told him had been a lie. Caroline had never been after him; instead, she had tried to help him when no one else wanted to. She was the only friend he had and he had ruined it by falling for her.
It was the most idiotic thing Tyler Lockwood had ever done and in the end, he had thought leaving Mystic Falls was the best thing to do.
But it wasn’t.
Jules’ idea of teaching hm about being a werewolf entailed living in a dirty trailer in the middle of the Florida swamp. Their “pack” was filled with a bunch of drunk hillbillies, who drank all day and shared the same stories day in and day out. They were alright pricks, who thought they could bare their teeth and all the vampires of the world would disappear.
And Tyler found it hard to get along with them. When Jules referred to Caroline as “that vampire bitch”, he had lost it. One of the packs older men tried to control him but Tyler found a sick satisfaction in beating the man’s face in.
With his knuckles bleeding, he ran cold water over the scraps as he stood in the gas station bathroom. He missed Mystic Falls, his mother, his friends and Caroline. Tyler especially missed Caroline, even though they shouldn’t be around each other since he could accidentally kill her during the full moon.
She was safer with Matt, he kept telling himself, even though it physically hurt to think of her with him.
“You can never go home,” Jules’ voice came from the door.
“Can’t I get one moment of privacy?” he asked as her reflection in the dirty and cracked bathroom mirror.
Jules didn’t budge. Instead, she folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the door’s frame. “If you go back, Damon and Stefan Salvador will kill you,” she said.
Tyler’s head dropped and he squeezed his hand into a fist. Blood pooled at his wounds and trickled down his hand, and he watched as it did to keep himself calm. Jules was always saying he could never go back and he was starting to wonder if she was lying.
“Stefan wouldn’t hurt me,” he said, his eyes still on his hand.
“Maybe but Damon is much dangerous. He killed Mason, you know, and he’ll do the same to you,” she said. “Look, Tyler, I know this isn’t easy but it’s for your own good. And Mason would want us to protect you. He was like family to me and that makes you like family, too.”
A bitter laugh bubbled up and left Tyler’s throat. Shaking his head, he turned the tap on again and cleaned off his hand before reaching over to grab the box of band aids he’d bought inside the station. He knew she was lying. She didn’t come to Mystic Falls to find Mason but to avenge his death. Tyler was sure her “surprise” over the moonstone had been nothing but an act.
“Mason would have never done this to me. I know if I tried to leave, you would stop me. You’re probably using me as a bargaining chip where the moonstone is concerned,” he said as he lifted his head and looked at her reflection again. “I won’t be used.”
“Too late for that,” Jules said with a self-serving smirk before she turned and walked out of the bathroom.
Tyler stood still for a moment before he let out a frustrated sigh. Pulling out his cell phone, he scrolled through his address book and landed on Caroline’s number. Like so many times before, he wanted to send her a text but stopped himself. Tyler had made himself think it was better if he just stayed away so he put the phone back into his pocket, and left the bathroom.
##
Three weeks into her search, Caroline ended up in Florida. She didn’t know why but she’d suddenly remembered Bonnie mentioning that Mason had been living in Florida. If he had lived there, there was a good chance that was where Jules had taken Tyler.
But Florida was a big state and she knew she was running out of time. Luckily, Bonnie had agreed to help her and gave her a general area where Tyler was. It was a small town, nestled close to a never ending swamp. Finding Tyler there would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
But two days before the full moon, Caroline watched as two men brought several chains from the local hardware store. It was a long shot but Caroline followed them, using their scent to find and keep their trail. Soon, she saw Jules’ trailer in the distance and knew Tyler had to be there.
With so many werewolves around, Caroline kept herself hidden and watched from a distance. Every time she saw Tyler, she had to stop herself from making herself known to him. Instead, she watched his habits and noticed he went for a lot of walks to a nearby creek. She knew she had to leave him a message there.
While the pack readied their dinners, Caroline went to the creek and left a piece of her clothing there - a scarf Tyler had made fun of a few times - along with a short note. She really needed it to work and hoped none of the other clan went to the creek before Tyler found the message.
It was well after sunset when the clan finally went to bed. Caroline moved to go down to the creek ad was happy to see Tyler show up.
“Caroline?” he whispered.
“Come on. We have to get out of here,” she said as she took his hand.
She was waiting for a fight; waiting for him to tell her no, but he came willing. Soon, they were at her car and both of them got in.
“We need to go,” Tyler whispered as his eyes darted around. “They don’t want me to leave.”
Caroline didn’t say a word as she started the car and left the park area. She drove them to the nearest interstate, where they started toward Virginia, neither of them saying a word. It wasn’t until morning that they stopped so Caroline could drink her morning blood.
“Thank you,” Tyler said as he looked over at her. “They wired made a mistake and fucked all of this up. She said Damon and Stefan were going to kill me.”
Shaking her head, Caroline reached out and took his hand. “They won’t,” she said. “And you know I could never let you walk away. Not after...not after what Matt told me about what you said to him.”
Tyler’s eyes widened a bit and he bowed his head. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop it, Caroline,” he whispered.
“Don’t worry about, Ty. We’ll discuss it later,” she told him.
Looking up, Tyler looked at her through tear-filled eyes. “Will you take me home?” he asked, his voice heavy with emotion.
Caroline stared at him for a moment, her throat tightening with emotion. She then leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, and buried her face against the crook of his neck.
“Yes,” she promised.
Characters/Pairings: Caroline/Tyler, Damon, and Jules
Word Count: 1782
Summary: They understood each other more than anyone else could so when one of them leaves home, the other decides to bring them back.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries or the characters.
Author's Note: Spoilers for the entire second season of the show.
All of them said she was stupid for trying; that it was best to let things go. Jules and her pack had left Mystic Falls and all of them thought it was best to leave them alone. But Caroline Forbes never listened when others told her to do things, and she knew it was her place to bring Tyler home.
It had all started when Mrs. Lockwood came over, asking if she’d seen Tyler. The look in the older woman’s eyes was heartbreaking and Caroline felt for her. Maybe there was a part of her that was still mad at Tyler for believing Jules, but she remembered when she had first became a vampire and how she had allowed Katherine to manipulate her.
The distraught pleas of a mother was enough to push Caroline into action but when Matt told her what Tyler had said, she knew no one was going to stop her from finding him.
Caroline had spent too many nights denying what she felt for Tyler, and denying how wonderful it felt when he’d kissed her. She had denied it because she wanted to be normal, and Matt was normal. He didn’t turn into a beast every full moon, that was capable of killing her.
But she knew she loved Tyler and she was a vampire, which made her life far from safe.
She decided to leave Mystic Falls the day after the full moon. It would give her four weeks to search before she would have to stop, and hide for a night. It was a perfect plan, right down to the note she’d written her mother, telling her she was leaving for a while to look at a few colleges. Her mother would believe it for a while before wondering why her daughter hadn’t returned yet. Hopefully by then Caroline would find Tyler and bring him home.
“You’re going to get yourself killed.”
She was putting the last of her bags in her car when she heard Damon’s voice. Caroline looked at him and shrugged before she shut the trunk of her car.
“And you almost get yourself killed every time you save Elena,” she pointed out before she turned to face him. “I’m going to do this, Damon. Tyler’s being manipulated by Jules and someone has to bring him home.”
Damon took a step closer and gave her his trademark smirk. “After Tyler sold all of us out, and believed Jules, which in turn got you tortured, you still want to be his friend?” he asked before letting out a bitter laugh. “You really are blonde, aren’t you?”
“It’s no different from you pining over Elena, even though she’ll never love you,” Caroline said as she tried her best to keep her anger in check. “Anyway, having Tyler on our side might help.”
Damon didn’t say anything to that; instead, he turned and walked around to the back of her car. Caroline furrowed her brow, wondering what he as doing as he bent down. When he straightened again, he tossed a black duffle bag onto her car.
“Weapons. We aren’t the only vampires out there and there’s a gun in there. Works wonders on werewolves when it isn’t the full moon. But be careful who you make an enemy out of,” he said before he turned and started to walk away.
Caroline stared down at the bag before looking at Damon’s retreating back. “Thanks,” she said before he disappeared.
##
Jules had been wrong. Everything she had ever told him had been a lie. Caroline had never been after him; instead, she had tried to help him when no one else wanted to. She was the only friend he had and he had ruined it by falling for her.
It was the most idiotic thing Tyler Lockwood had ever done and in the end, he had thought leaving Mystic Falls was the best thing to do.
But it wasn’t.
Jules’ idea of teaching hm about being a werewolf entailed living in a dirty trailer in the middle of the Florida swamp. Their “pack” was filled with a bunch of drunk hillbillies, who drank all day and shared the same stories day in and day out. They were alright pricks, who thought they could bare their teeth and all the vampires of the world would disappear.
And Tyler found it hard to get along with them. When Jules referred to Caroline as “that vampire bitch”, he had lost it. One of the packs older men tried to control him but Tyler found a sick satisfaction in beating the man’s face in.
With his knuckles bleeding, he ran cold water over the scraps as he stood in the gas station bathroom. He missed Mystic Falls, his mother, his friends and Caroline. Tyler especially missed Caroline, even though they shouldn’t be around each other since he could accidentally kill her during the full moon.
She was safer with Matt, he kept telling himself, even though it physically hurt to think of her with him.
“You can never go home,” Jules’ voice came from the door.
“Can’t I get one moment of privacy?” he asked as her reflection in the dirty and cracked bathroom mirror.
Jules didn’t budge. Instead, she folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the door’s frame. “If you go back, Damon and Stefan Salvador will kill you,” she said.
Tyler’s head dropped and he squeezed his hand into a fist. Blood pooled at his wounds and trickled down his hand, and he watched as it did to keep himself calm. Jules was always saying he could never go back and he was starting to wonder if she was lying.
“Stefan wouldn’t hurt me,” he said, his eyes still on his hand.
“Maybe but Damon is much dangerous. He killed Mason, you know, and he’ll do the same to you,” she said. “Look, Tyler, I know this isn’t easy but it’s for your own good. And Mason would want us to protect you. He was like family to me and that makes you like family, too.”
A bitter laugh bubbled up and left Tyler’s throat. Shaking his head, he turned the tap on again and cleaned off his hand before reaching over to grab the box of band aids he’d bought inside the station. He knew she was lying. She didn’t come to Mystic Falls to find Mason but to avenge his death. Tyler was sure her “surprise” over the moonstone had been nothing but an act.
“Mason would have never done this to me. I know if I tried to leave, you would stop me. You’re probably using me as a bargaining chip where the moonstone is concerned,” he said as he lifted his head and looked at her reflection again. “I won’t be used.”
“Too late for that,” Jules said with a self-serving smirk before she turned and walked out of the bathroom.
Tyler stood still for a moment before he let out a frustrated sigh. Pulling out his cell phone, he scrolled through his address book and landed on Caroline’s number. Like so many times before, he wanted to send her a text but stopped himself. Tyler had made himself think it was better if he just stayed away so he put the phone back into his pocket, and left the bathroom.
##
Three weeks into her search, Caroline ended up in Florida. She didn’t know why but she’d suddenly remembered Bonnie mentioning that Mason had been living in Florida. If he had lived there, there was a good chance that was where Jules had taken Tyler.
But Florida was a big state and she knew she was running out of time. Luckily, Bonnie had agreed to help her and gave her a general area where Tyler was. It was a small town, nestled close to a never ending swamp. Finding Tyler there would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
But two days before the full moon, Caroline watched as two men brought several chains from the local hardware store. It was a long shot but Caroline followed them, using their scent to find and keep their trail. Soon, she saw Jules’ trailer in the distance and knew Tyler had to be there.
With so many werewolves around, Caroline kept herself hidden and watched from a distance. Every time she saw Tyler, she had to stop herself from making herself known to him. Instead, she watched his habits and noticed he went for a lot of walks to a nearby creek. She knew she had to leave him a message there.
While the pack readied their dinners, Caroline went to the creek and left a piece of her clothing there - a scarf Tyler had made fun of a few times - along with a short note. She really needed it to work and hoped none of the other clan went to the creek before Tyler found the message.
It was well after sunset when the clan finally went to bed. Caroline moved to go down to the creek ad was happy to see Tyler show up.
“Caroline?” he whispered.
“Come on. We have to get out of here,” she said as she took his hand.
She was waiting for a fight; waiting for him to tell her no, but he came willing. Soon, they were at her car and both of them got in.
“We need to go,” Tyler whispered as his eyes darted around. “They don’t want me to leave.”
Caroline didn’t say a word as she started the car and left the park area. She drove them to the nearest interstate, where they started toward Virginia, neither of them saying a word. It wasn’t until morning that they stopped so Caroline could drink her morning blood.
“Thank you,” Tyler said as he looked over at her. “They wired made a mistake and fucked all of this up. She said Damon and Stefan were going to kill me.”
Shaking her head, Caroline reached out and took his hand. “They won’t,” she said. “And you know I could never let you walk away. Not after...not after what Matt told me about what you said to him.”
Tyler’s eyes widened a bit and he bowed his head. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop it, Caroline,” he whispered.
“Don’t worry about, Ty. We’ll discuss it later,” she told him.
Looking up, Tyler looked at her through tear-filled eyes. “Will you take me home?” he asked, his voice heavy with emotion.
Caroline stared at him for a moment, her throat tightening with emotion. She then leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, and buried her face against the crook of his neck.
“Yes,” she promised.