These missing scenes begin at the end of the episode "The Last Day"…
Damon
He had no idea what she was thinking, no idea what the expression she wore as she looked at him meant.
It hadn't been that long ago when she had confirmed to him that it was never him she loved, it had always been his brother. Maybe he should have known, the signs were there, but he didn't care. She was what he wanted, but when she finally told him the truth, all it did was hurt.
She looked at the bite, and back into his eyes with the expression he couldn't read and didn't want to read. What she thought no longer mattered. It was her doppelganger that mattered. It was what Elena thought that he cared about.
Well, that was not really true either. He knew what Elena thought, she thought that whether she lived or died did not matter. She thought he would just let her sacrifice herself relying on potions and Originals. She thought he had done the worst thing he could do by ensuring she would live, one way or the other.
She hated him for it. Fine. That was a price he was willing to pay. She had thrown him out after he had ensured she would live and he was forced to defend himself against his brother's attacks. He didn't care about that either.
But when Elijah said she would never forgive him, when Rick told him he had screwed up, he began to doubt himself. Maybe he had screwed up. The chances he had to be alone with Elena were so rare before now. Rare, but at least they happened. If they both made it out of this mess alive, would she just be gone? Would he lose her because he saved her?
He had ensured she would make it through the night alive, in one form or another. He had already saved her from herself, now he would try to save her from Klaus. Now he would try to save what she still had that he wanted so badly – her humanity. He couldn't get his back, but he would try to keep her alive through the night so she could keep hers.
He had needed a little help to rescue Vampire Barbie and the werewolf, it had cost him a fatal bite, but he didn't care. It was for Elena.
Elena's plan was idiotic, disjointed. Trust Elijah, first when he told her nothing and she expected to die, then when he talked about magic potions and she hoped to live. She was so blinded that she would still risk the werewolf and the vampire, who would have to die before Klaus would kill her and the potion could do its magic. She talked about the witch dying if she channeled her ancestors, yet that still remained part of the plan. It made no sense to him.
It was just as unbelievable that his brother was willing to stand there and let her sacrifice herself, let Klaus take her, let her choose to die. Well, not the last one, not anymore – no thanks to Stefan.
Now he was doomed to die. She might never know what he had tried to do for her, for those she loved. Still fine. If she hated him as much as everyone said, she wouldn't miss him, so he had kept her from that pain as well.
He wouldn't miss her either, not after the bite took effect. One way or another, he was dead. One way or another, he would save her humanity before he died.
He looked back into the eyes of the original Petrova doppelganger. He had loved her just as much as he loved Elena. He had risked his life time after time to save them both, while they just pined after his brother. His brother who would let either of them die.
Her choice, Stefan had told him. Her choice to die.
Not anymore. Not tonight.
He couldn't decide who was the bigger idiot, the Petrova doppelgangers or him. It didn't matter. He was dead.
But before that happened, he would try to save her humanity one more time.
Elena
She couldn't believe it. She had done everything Klaus wanted, everything both Originals wanted. But Jenna was here, changing before her eyes.
She had failed to protect those she loved. It wasn't supposed to be this way. Maybe Tyler and Caroline would be here, but Bonnie was supposed to be here as well, channeling witches, killing Klaus.
The only one here with her was Jenna, someone she had done everything she could to keep out of all of this. Someone she had tried hardest to protect.
She wasn't able to protect anyone. Bonnie refused to listen to her, Jeremy insisted on being involved, but she thought Jenna would be safe. Not so. Jenna was here, becoming vampire – a vampire doomed to die.
She couldn't blame Stefan. He had tried to stop her from going to Klaus. He did wait until the Original had come for her, but he had tried. She had talked him out of it. There was a plan in place, he wasn't part of it. So she kissed him, told him she loved him, and convinced him to close his eyes. He was safe now, like all the others. Like Jenna was supposed to be.
As she stared at her aunt, she remembered that Damon had ignored her when she had tried to do the same thing with him. She had gone to turn herself in, to let Elijah take her. Damon didn't let her go to him. Damon just threatened to break her arm and moved between her and the Original.
And Elijah didn't take her.
Damon told her time after time he would find a way to keep her alive and he had. Now she would live whether Bonnie killed Klaus or not. The selfish bastard had kept his promise to her. She was no longer at risk. Jenna was at risk.
Jenna was at risk, and Damon had disappeared. Well, she had kicked him out after he kept his promise to her. Maybe he was still out wreaking havoc, maybe what happened to Jenna was his fault as well. After all, he had done essentially the same thing to her.
Then she remembered telling Stefan that all of this was her fault. Stefan had assured her it was not her fault, it was because of Klaus. Would he say the same thing now? He had fought with Damon after he had forced her to drink his blood.
It made her shiver. Damon's blood was in her system. He had found the way to keep her alive, then taunted Stefan. The brothers fought, and she sent Damon away. She and Stefan talked about choices, love and life as a vampire. She meant every word she said to him. She didn't want to be a vampire, but would she rather die? It was not a thought that had occurred to her before. Before, it was either live or die trying to save her family.
She glanced from Jenna to the witch – the witch who claimed the Martins were wasting their time looking for her. Had they died in vain?
She hadn't been able to protect Jenna – not from Katherine, not from Klaus.
Stefan hadn't been able to protect her from Katherine either, she had ended up hurt and then kidnapped. He didn't even try to protect her from Klaus.
Elijah's plan relied on her being sacrificed, along with vampire and werewolf. Elijah's plan relied on a magic potion and a miraculous resurrection – for her, but what about the vampire and the werewolf?
She exhaled and shook her head as she watched her aunt. No one was protecting anyone. No one except Damon. No matter what happened, she would live, have some sort of a chance at life.
Stefan had let her walk away, Damon wouldn't. She looked around, past the flames, at the trees, sure that somewhere nearby, Damon was still trying to protect her. He always would, no matter what she said to or about him.
That was who Damon was. He would be out there somewhere, and if the roles were reversed, she, no matter what he had done to her, would find a way to protect him.