This missing scene occurs after the end of Season 5, Episode 10 – "Fifty Shades of Grayson"…

Really, Elena should have known better.

She needed to talk about Damon's breaking up with her to someone, and Caroline was the only one that was really accessible. Anyway, with what Bonnie was going through, talking to the witch or Jeremy wasn't possible. Talking to Stefan about Damon had never really worked out, and she was afraid he would see their breakup as some kind of 'Elena is available' signal she did not want to give him. Matt was a possibility, but Caroline was the accessible one.

Still, Elena should have known better.

"Finally!" Caroline exclaimed, seeming excited.

Elena wasn't sure of her own expression, but the blonde vampire seemed to cut herself off because of it. After a few seconds of silence, the Doppelganger asked, "Finally what?"

Caroline was less excited, more uncertain as she answered. "Finally you can move past Damon."

Elena had met Caroline on campus on a bench outside of the dorm room they (sometimes) shared. She was not sure what she had expected from this conversation, but a little bit of help or support would have been nice.

"Move past Damon," Elena repeated, looking away.

"Yes," Caroline confirmed. "Now that you've ended things with him…"

"He ended 'things' with me." Elena interrupted, still looking away.

Caroline hesitated, but then continued, "Now that things are over between you two, you can come back to school. You can have the normal life that you wanted…"

She let herself trail off, apparently unsure if Elena was still listening. Elena finally looked back at her and shrugged.

"The 'normal life' that Damon wanted me to have," she said.

"You wanted it, too," Caroline responded.

Elena nodded slightly, looking away again, and Caroline continued, "You can have that now. Without all the complications that Damon brought."

The dark haired vampire let herself laugh a little. "Not just Damon."

"OK," Caroline agreed, hesitating again, "but now that things have changed…"

Elena sharply turned her head to look at Caroline, so sharply that the blonde cut cringed a little as she cut herself off.

"What exactly do you think has changed, Caroline?" Elena asked.

When the other vampire didn't immediately answer, Elena asked, "Do you think I don't love Damon anymore?"

Caroline shook her head, but didn't say anything.

"Do you think that he doesn't love me anymore?"

"He broke up with you," Caroline answered softly.

"That wasn't the question," Elena said. She knew her tone was harsher than it should have been, but she knew it was probably a mistake to have this conversation with Carline at all.

When the blonde didn't immediately respond, the Doppelganger asked, "Do you think that he wouldn't do anything to anyone to protect me now?" When Caroline looked away, Elena asked, "What did he do before we were together?"

When Caroline looked back at Elena, she could tell that the dark-haired vampire expected an answer. "You broke up. You need to respect his decision."

Elena softened her stern expression. "What Damon needs is time. He needs to see that I'm not going anywhere."

Caroline's expression turned incredulous. "Elena, still? Why? Even he sees he's wrong for you. You know what he's done…"

"Yes!" Elena interrupted, her voice harsh again. "I know what he's done. I also know I've done, and what you've done." She hesitated and forced herself to relax a little. She forced a calm voice as she continued, "I do know what he's done, Caroline, I know exactly what he's done. What I'm finally starting to understand is the reasons for him doing it."

The blonde vampire's expression change. Now it looked a little sad. "The old Elena would have said that the reasons don't matter."

"The old Elena is still gone," Elena said, feeling a little sad herself. "This Elena is starting to understand. Nothing has changed between Damon and me."

"He doesn't want you now."

Maybe this conversion was a mistake, but Elena was beginning to think it had helped her see things clearer. She rose from the bench and smiled at Caroline before turning to walk away. "He's always wanted me. He wants me now. He just needs to know that I won't change in the way he's afraid I will."

"What does that even mean?" Caroline asked Elena's retreating figure. When the Doppelganger didn't respond or even turn around, Caroline muttered, "You don't even know how to break up…"

Hmm…Elena seems to be in denial. Or maybe it's me.

Yeah, it's probably me…