This missing scene begins shortly after Stefan walks away from Elena close to the end of the episode "Crying Wolf"…
Damon's phone rang again. It had been a number of minutes since he had finished talking with Stefan and he had expected to be done with calls for the day. If the call was a surprise, the caller was even more surprising.
"Elena. I thought you were with the love of your life. Sneaking away to call me so soon?"
Elena sounded desperate to him. "Damon, please. I need your help."
The vampire's tone changed from snarky to bland. "I just got off of the phone with Stefan. If you were in trouble, he would have told me."
"Stefan's upset. I don't know what to do."
"Upset? With you right next him?" He sounded annoyed to Elena now.
"You told him that Elijah was going to let me be sacrificed. Now he's calling me a martyr and tragic. He left awhile ago and hasn't come back."
Snarky was back. "So you want me to go there and comfort you."
Elena was the annoyed one now. "This is serious. Quit smarting off."
"I am serious, Elena. I will go and…"
"Damon!" she interrupted. "I've been paying attention. You don't try to get between me and Stefan anymore. You just help me. Please, help me now. Help me figure out what to say, how to get him to understand."
"Understand why you want to die? You think I want to help you with that?"
"You know what will happen if I don't go through with it. Everyone I love will die, including him and you." Her desperation was back.
"You're still on the it's you or them kick? Is Stefan."
Elena hesitated. "I don't know. He left without hearing me out."
Damon's voice was hard now. "You mean without listening to your rationalization. Even he sees it now, that you're giving up."
"I'm making a choice, Damon."
His tone didn't soften. "So are we. We're looking for a different way."
"Different way to what?" Elena asked suspiciously.
"We're looking for a way to take out Elijah before he kills you."
"Damon, don't. Do not confront him." She actually sounded concerned.
His voice was bland again. "Too late. Already did."
"No! Damon - he'll kill you."
"Actually it turns out he'll just shove a pencil into my throat and lecture me about how I'm only alive if I keep you safe."
She took a second to process what he said before asking . "Did he really do that? Did it hurt you?"
He responded enunciating each word dramatically. "Yes, Elena it hurt – my throat and my pride." Then he just sounded angry. "It didn't help when the wolf pack chained me up and started torturing me to get me to tell them about the moonstone."
She found herself swallowing before asking quietly, "Torturing?"
"Yeah. I learned a thing or two – things I can use in the future…"
"Damon, please don't."
"Just kidding, Elena."
"How did you get away?" she asked quickly to get her mind away from torturing of or by him.
"Your new boss - Elijah. He came, ripped a few hearts out, and told me he saved my life – again."
"Elijah," she whispered.
"I won't describe to you what happened to me, Elena, but the worst part is that he was right. I'm sick of it. I'd rather die than have him – or you - save me again."
"Damon, I'm so sorry about what happened."
"Don't be. While I was being stabbed and shot – or whatever - witches were casting. Now we know we can't just rip Elijah's throat out. Now we know his plan for you. And all it cost was a few wolves and my personal pain and blood. I've felt worse. "
Elena sighed. "It's me or you, Damon. I don't want to live if you're gone…all of you. Any of you."
"You did fine without us."
"Things are different now," she claimed.
"We didn't do well without you. You know what we were."
"Like I said, you're different now, better. And I know Stefan changed before we met."
"You know he's nothing without you, certainly nothing good." Damon sounded a little bitter to her.
"Damon, please. Just help me with Stefan now. I can't stand that he's upset with me, that he doesn't understand."
"He'll never understand what you want him to, Elena. Find a different way to reach him."
She exhaled and shook her head. "I tried to explain, he walked away."
"His loss, Elena. You have choices, you know. I would never walk out on you just because I didn't like what you were saying."
"I'm sure he's just blowing off steam," she said, trying to ignore what he was saying.
She thought she actually heard him sigh. "He's afraid of losing you Elena."
"So he walks away?"
"So he lets you think about it, lets you decide what to do. And he prepares himself for the worst."
Elena understood. "OK. So I go to him and…?" Her voice trailed off.
He couldn't believe she was this dense. Surely she was just liking his voice, trying to stay on the phone with him. "And say 'take me to Damon'."
She kind of snorted – he appreciated it.
"Or ask him what he means. Let him tell you. God knows you haven't listened to me, maybe he can get through to you. You like him."
"I like you too, Damon. Thank you."
"But don't be afraid to demand he bring you to me…if you decide you don't like…"
"Goodbye Damon," Elena interrupted.
"Be safe, Elena."