X3 Comping: Not a bug - Previous session's clips split by overlapping loop point ?

Maybe this should just be a reply to my previous post about Comping, but it is a different issue:
 
So I stop recording a bunch of verse takes; move the loop point for the next phrase (kind of a whispered sentence thing) and the new loop points overlap the previous ones by a little bit. 
Here's what the clips look like:

 
It's hard to see because of ALL THE DARK GREY but shown in the image is the last three take lanes from the verse, and the next four take lanes for the whispered phrase. (I increased the magnification on the whisper take because otherwise you wouldn't see it).
 
For some reason, SONAR has chopped the verse takes' clips up, at the new loop point, even though I would expect those to stay unchanged. 
 
Is this "expected behavior by design" in COMPING record mode, for an overlap like this?
Secondly, can I join (or "heal") the broken up clip in the previous takes?