This missing scene begins after the end of Season 3 Episode 19, "Heart of Darkness"…

Damon was unbearably quiet after he and Elena had their argument. All Elena could do was think about how she had messed this up.

She had come on the trip to sort out feelings, to talk to Damon. Although she had wanted some time alone with Damon, it was annoying that Stefan had sent her on this trip. Still, she was sure she had not come on the trip to put Damon in the position of "lashing out", like he accused her of wanting him to do. He may have forced her to say that she thought he lashed out at her sometimes, but she was sure she really was here to talk to him, to see what would happen between them.

What had happened so far wasn't good. Now Damon was upset and all she could think about was that she said she thought he lashed out when things got hard. He had put her on the spot and she had messed up - again. The only difference between this and her comment at the Ball that had sent him away was that, though he did walk away from her after this argument, he hadn't left her to find her own way home.

The fact that Jeremy was with them was making this even harder. Though she had the entire plane ride to Denver to talk to Damon, she couldn't force herself to bring the subject up on the plane. Perhaps she was afraid that something bad would happen – something like their argument at the house in Kansas.

They were still in Kansas when Elena convinced Damon that she needed to stop to eat. As Jeremy exited the SUV Damon had rented, Elena managed to ask him to spend some extra time in the restroom.

Still, when she and Damon were alone, after she had told the waitress to wait for Jeremy to return before doing anything, she had trouble speaking to Damon. He was barely looking at her, was obviously still upset with her.

"I shouldn't have said that," she finally said, her voice soft. When Damon's eyes met hers, she continued, "about sabotage and you lashing out. I shouldn't have said those things."

Damon hesitated, then responded in a voice as soft as hers, "It's what you think is true."

Elena cringed slightly and looked down. She hadn't decided on a response he said, "Don't apologize for telling me what you think."

Elena let out a breath and looked back to him. "I didn't mean to say those things."

Damon shook his head and repeated himself. "Don't apologize. If what you're saying is true, if you really are trying to figure out if you have feelings for me, I need to know what you think. Though I'm really not sure why you think that about me."

Elena let out a small gasp before she could control it. "Why I would think you lash out? How about you fighting with Kol at the Ball, sleeping with Rebekah afterwards. All that because I said…what I said to you."

"Matt," Damon said flatly.

"Matt?" Elena asked tilting her head in confusion.

"Something was going on between Matt and Kol. I found them on the balcony where Kol was squeezing his hand, crushing it. Kol didn't stop when I told him to, so I knocked him off the balcony and put him out of commission for a while."

Elena was gaping at him in surprise when he continued, "Rebekah was trying to talk to him afterwards. He didn't want to talk to her so I thought it best to keep her occupied for a bit."

Elena bit her lip and looked away. "You didn't tell me any of this the next morning."

"You were all indignant and accusing."

Elena put her elbows on the table and let her head fall into her hands as she tried to process the information.

"How I am supposed to do this," she began a she lifted her eyes to meet his again, "if I don't know these things. First Rose, and now Matt?"

"Sure." Damon said, letting a hint of sarcasm enter his voice, then he spoke mockingly. "'Elena, look at what I did. Do you love me now?' Is that what you want?"

Elena cringed and looked away again.

Damon's voice returned to normal, though a little testy, as he added, "You won't know everything, Elena; though enough has been done right in front of you to know who I am."

When Elena didn't immediately respond, he added, "It would be nice if you didn't automatically just think the worst about me every time."

Elena found herself nodding her head. "You're right….okay."

"Okay." Damon repeated, letting a slight smirk form on his face. Then he whispered, "Remember, sometimes I do things right in front of you. Like the kissing thing…"

Elena laughed softly. "That part was pretty good..."

"'Pretty good'?" Damon asked, his voice sarcastic again.

"Fine. It was really good," she admitted.

"Is that what you're going to tell Stefan?" Damon asked, then seeing her tilt her head questioningly, added, "Is he going to slug me again?"

"Was the 'kissing thing' not worth a slug from your brother?" she asked in response, laughing.

They were interrupted by the sound of Jeremy clearing his throat. As Elena moved over to let him sit next to her in the booth, he looked pointedly at her and said softly, mimicking her voice, "Why nothing's going on between me and Damon, Jeremy. Why would you think that?"

Elena bit her lip to try to keep a laugh from escaping. She glanced at Damon to see that his smirk was as big as her smile had become.

Now you see one of the flaws in the little game I play here. This chapter contradicts a previous chapter. It is the fault of the show, of course. They don't get everything right, and, from time to time, I have to remind them of the way things should have happened…