This missing scene begins after then end of Season 3, Episode 14 - Dangerous Liasons...

Damon

It hadn't worked. Damon knew as the sun rose that it hadn't worked.

As much as he felt when he let himself go with Rebekah, as good as it felt to remember who he was, what he was capable of, it hadn't worked.

Really, he knew it wouldn't. Nothing had ever worked when he tried to get himself past his feelings for Elena.

Elena had kissed him, let him kiss her. She had thanked him and told him she appreciated him and what he was doing for her. Her expressions, her behavior around him, everything she did all but blurted that she loved him.

Though he wasn't happy to see her at the ball, things were looking up when she agreed to dance with him. Her feelings showed as vividly as they ever had while they danced. They were even showing after she had gone to see the witch, while she was arguing with him, apologizing for having Stefan take him out.

Her feelings were definitely showing after he said he loved her. They showed while she was telling him that his love for her was "the problem". He knew she regretted it immediately. She tried to take her words back, but he interrupted her. Although he knew what she felt, although he knew that she knew it as well, the fact that she would say his love for her was a problem showed that she hadn't accepted it yet. She was still lying to herself.

Though Elena had sometimes asked for his help, though she had shown she would let him do just about anything for her, she still fought him when he protected her. The thing he wanted more than anything, the thing he worked hardest to get – a safe Elena – seemed to be the thing Elena would give up the easiest.

He really didn't believe that she meant what she said about his love being a problem, but the fact that she said it, the fact that she was still lying to herself, was too much. He knew it was impulsive when he left her before she had the chance to take her words back, but she couldn't expect her words not to hurt him, not to do what she intended them to do.

So he left her to wallow in her continuing obsession with his brother, in the lies she still kept trying to tell herself.

He left her and looked for a diversion, something to get his mind off of Elena. He found a couple of things – first a confrontation with Kol, then a tryst with Rebekah.

Both felt good, both were reminders of who he was, who he had been before he came to care about her.

Neither the fight nor the tryst worked. But he really shouldn't have expected them to.

Elena had gotten under his skin, and though she was still trying to deny her feelings for him, he would never deny his feelings for her.

But sometimes, he just wished he could forget the feelings for awhile.

Elena

Elena hadn't slept much during the night. She was fine while Stefan was with her, she even was able to ask him if he felt any of his old feelings again.

His answer, that if he let himself feel he only felt pain, gave her no comfort. Although he had done what she asked him to do - disable Damon; although he had stopped insulting her and was being more than civil towards her, his words still bothered her. His description of the deaths of the Originals, excluding Klaus, as "collateral damage", upset her enough. His refusal to let himself feel anything because of pain was worse. She felt pain all of the time.

It killed her to watch what Stefan did to Damon – at her request, though she knew Damon would recover. She almost felt Damon deserved it, he had done such things to others before, but it was still hard to watch.

It was harder to face Damon knowing she was the reason Stefan had done it. Her apology was sincere, she didn't want to hurt him. Damon didn't want to hear her apology, he just tried to make her leave. She knew he was trying to protect her, and she appreciated it. His protection of her, despite her objections, was one of the reasons she felt the way she did about him.

She also knew her feelings were showing as she argued with him. His mentioning that he loved her should not have caught her off guard, but it did. Elena knew she should have not responded the way she did, calling his love a problem, and she regretted it immediately. She tried to take it back, but they were interrupted and he left.

She regretted it even more when Damon had an altercation with Kol, when Damon just walked away from them all.

She appreciated the conversation with Stefan, it was a welcome distraction, but what he said gave her no comfort. And when he was gone, all she could do was fret about what she had done to Damon.

Stefan was avoiding pain, but she knew that any pain he felt was his own doing, was because of his own actions.

But Damon? She was beginning to think that she was the cause of any pain Damon felt.

She was torn, she wanted to talk to Damon, to try to apologize again, but she didn't want to expose her feelings again. She still hadn't worked all her feelings out, and it was hard to be around Damon. She had said as much to Caroline, and she meant it.

But Elena knew it didn't give her the right to hurt Damon. She had no idea what she would say when she saw him, she wasn't going to go to his house where she might find him alone. But she went to the Grill, not really sure whether she was hoping he would be there, or would not be there.

She didn't see Damon, but she saw Matt. He was working, though his hand was bandaged, splints on his fingers.

"Matt!" She said as she quickly went to him and caught his eyes. "What happened?"

Matt took a breath and told her the story as he worked. "I was at the ball, on a balcony at their house when Rebekah's brother offered to shake my hand. I took his, and he just squeezed. He crushed my hand."

Elena's eyes widened as he told the story. "I…I'm so sorry. Why?"

Matt just shook his head.

"Just your hand," Elena said, sounding like she was talking to herself. "Why just your hand? Some kind of message?"

"Damon stopped him." Matt said.

Elena looked him in surprise. She was almost afraid to ask. "Damon?"

"Damon. He pushed Kol away from me, off the balcony, then jumped after him."

Elena released a breath and closed her eyes as Matt continued. "I know he's been helping you with Stefan…messed up. I really don't know what's going on between you and Damon, Elena."

Elena opened her eyes as he continued, "Caroline said…" but he didn't finsih that statement. Instead he said, "I owe him now. I don't know what Kol would have done, but I owe Damon now."

When Elena didn't respond, Matt asked, "Can you tell him 'thanks' for me? I don't know when I'll see him again."

Elena nodded. "Sure," she said, though after the way she had treated him, she was not sure when she would see him again.

"I wanted to tell him last night," Matt said as he turned around, "but when I saw him, he was leaving with Rebekah."

Elena gasped as she watched Matt walk away from her. She found herself closing her eyes and rubbing her head as she whispered, "What have I done?" to herself.

As much as I am in love with Elena Gilbert, I have to admit that, sometimes, I have no idea what Damon sees in TV Elena. About all I can think of is that the writers must think it makes for a good story for her to act so idiotic all the time. Surely they will have her waking up by the time it is all over…

Personally, I think that many of the stories at this site (including Elena and the Pledge, if I may say so) prove that a much more rational Elena, an Elena who has figured out the Damon/Stefan thing, can still be a part of superb stories…