Dean, unable to cover himself since his shirts were outside in a soggy pile atop some old car, said, "Not that I'm not thrilled you're not one giant sasquatch on top of that floating inferno, Sammy, but what the hell are you doing here?"

Sam sat up, and to Dean's pleasant surprise, was clothed. "Apparently, not what you're doing here!"

"Spare me the bullshit, Sam. Why aren't you with the group?"

Sam stood and towered over him. "Oh, so it's okay for you to run around on your own but not me?"

"I wasn't alone," Dean countered.

"Neither was I," Sam stammered.

Gwen waved, embarrassed. She had already climbed out of the bed, and quickly, she grabbed Max's shirt and handed it to her, eager to avoid the brothers' awkward conversation.

"I gotta grab my clothes," Dean said, his attitude demanding a wide berth in the entryway.

Sam followed him outside as the women hung back.

Bounding down the stairs and toward the car on which they'd littered his clothes, Dean saw the dead Croat and chastised himself for leaving his weapon in it. As soon as he pulled on the wet tee and over shirt, he bent down to steal his blade back from the dead Croat's skull. It made a slick noise on its exit. He made sure to wipe the blood right on the dead Croat's clothes before sheathing it and turning back to Sam. Sam, having witnessed the whole thing, had a sarcastic smirk plastered to his face.

"What?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged. "Nothing," he said, feigning like he had nothing to say. "Just… skulling a Croat always makes me super horny, too." He laughed.

Dean cracked a smile. Okay, I'll give him one. "All right, Romeo. What about you and Xena? I leave you for one day, and despite the fact that we just caught you in bed together, you were fully clothed! Have I taught you nothing?"

Sam blushed slightly. "Actually, we were just trying to keep warm while we waited for you."

"Wake up, Sammy. That girl is into you. Just say the word and Max and I can give you two some privacy."

Sam rolled his eyes and begrudgingly smiled at his brother. "Right, and that would have nothing to do with you and Max having some 'privacy' of your own."

Slipping his coat on, Dean walked to his car, fished the keys from his pocket, and popped open the trunk.

"Wait, you also think she looks like Xena?"

Dean took out his bag. "Is that all you think about?" Dean joked. "I gotta get changed. While I do that, why don't you grab those cans," he said, pointing to the cans he and Max had filled, "and gas up my baby?"

With her shirt back in place, Max sat at the foot of the bed and watched Gwen's nervous pacing. "You okay?"

Gwen looked up. "Yeah, I just…" she looked away, then back to Max, a guilty smile on her face. "I just really like 'em built like that."

A small smile began to spread on Max's face, too – a knowing smile. "Sorry I salted your game."

Gwen stopped pacing. "It's okay. You didn't know I was here."

Max laughed, only slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, sorry for the peep show." Sure they were soldiers; ate, showered and fought together, some slept together, but Max never got naked around her unit mates.

Gwen stood still for a moment, a pregnant pause permeating the room.

Hoping she wouldn't bring it up – the elephant in the room – Max pressed at her wound, praying to the Blue Lady that Gwen would get distracted by it and not ask the burning question undoubtedly on everyone's minds.

"Max, what are you doing?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

Max stood. No such luck. "I don't want to talk about it."

"It's just, he looks just like Al-"

"Alec, I know."

"Well, why? Why does he look just like Alec?"

Max took a deep breath. This was not the follow-up question she expected. "Look, Gwen, you gotta keep the secret if I tell you anything."

Gwen shrugged. "Who am I gonna tell?"

"No, seriously." She stared hard at the taller brunette.

"Okay, I promise."

Max pursed her lips, biting the inside of her cheek. "He was the donor."

"What!?" Gwen exclaimed. "How? It's not possible. He's way too young to have been a donor!"

"They kidnapped him when he was younger. Took his DNA."

Face twisted in disgust, Gwen's eyes widened. "Ew!"

"Not like that," Max offered. "At least, I don't think like that."

Gwen remained quiet as questions flooded her mind. Why did Alec get a child donor when all the rest of us were sperm and egg surrogated? Is that why Alec excelled at hand-to-hand? Because his donor was a hunter? That doesn't make sense. He wasn't a hunter as a kid, right? Eventually, she asked, "What's so special about Dean?"

Max smiled, recognizing the curious cat inside her X5 counterpart. "Don't know. He's got good instincts, some mad skills with a blade, plus, he's easy on the eyes."

Gwen laughed. "I think you mean 'easy on Max's panties-'"

Max smacked her on the arm.

Gwen bit her bottom lip excitedly. "What about Sam?"

"Don't know," Max repeated. "Dean didn't mention anything. Just that Sam doesn't know, and can't. And no one else can either."

"Okay," Gwen said. "You have my silence."

Her promise gave Max relief. "So you and Sam, huh?" Max asked.

Gwen's lips moved into a wide smile. "Maybe. We definitely weren't moving as fast as you and Dean. And by the way, let me just get this out of the way. Is he your Alec replacement?"

That was the follow up question she had expected. "It's complicated," Max responded. "And… I don't think so."

"Then why haven't you hit it with anyone?"

"None-ya," Max said, shivering at the memory of Dean's hands on her body, and hers on his.

"Well, I can at least say this: those Winchesters really got somethin' goin' on."

As if on cue, Dean burst through the door, eyes searching the darkness for Max.

Max saw he had changed his clothes and wished she had her bags so she could get out of her dirty, wet clothes, too. Alas, she'd have to wait until they caught up with Zack.

"Ready to go?"

In the car, tensions were… weird. Not bad, but not necessarily good either. Because of Sam's freakishly long legs, Gwen and Max sat in the back seat together, Max on a towel Gwen provided on the promise she'd wash it at the hotel.

Besides everyone else's dryness versus her soaked-ness, Max felt like she was stuck in a corner in the darkness, and had been thinking about Gwen's questions. There was no denying she was attracted to Dean, just as she had been to Alec the past few years, but was it because he looked like Alec? Because she never got to the point with Alec where they could talk about their… relationship?

She bit her cheek and stared out the window. Dean knew a few things Sam and Gwen didn't, and she hoped he didn't bring any of it up, especially not Alec.

Dean stared straightforward at the road, occasionally checking the rearview mirror to see if he could see Max; but she sat diagonally behind him, so it would have been hazardous to all four of them for him to avert his eyes from the road too long, especially considering the downpour.

What had almost gone down in that motel room had left him aching. Maybe Max was a genetically engineered soldier, but for damn sure she was all woman, and a fighter at that. He checked the rearview mirror again, moot as it were. He would only see Gwen, and she was not looking back.

Sweeping her hair over her shoulder, Gwen looked over to Max. In the darkness of the back seat and in the heavy rain, only the whites of Max's eyes reflected the shining rain, and because of that, she could see Max's eyes dart between Dean and the blurry trees just off the highway. It had to be rough for her, and Gwen did not envy the confusion she must be feeling.

She shifted her stare to Sam, who, like Dean, was watching the road. She knew there was more to him than he was letting on, and honestly, found it intriguing. She was up for the challenge. She wasn't sure how she got him under the covers back at the Surf Motel, but if Dean and Max hadn't busted in, she felt she could have found out more about what made him tick. Or what he tasted like. The thought of kissing him made her swallow nervously, and like an embarrassed schoolgirl, she blushed and looked away.

Sam felt her eyes on the back of his head but couldn't look back. Everyone seemed to be minding their own, and their silence made his speaking up seem like the awkward interruption. What would he say anyway? 'Hey Gwen, wanna go somewhere and talk?' Or even, 'Dean, what happened over the last twenty-four that's got you so wound, or is it Max?' Or, on that note, 'Hey, Max, who is this 'Alex' guy and why does everyone think Dean looks like him?' Maybe it was better they all remain quiet until they talk to one another separately. He huffed minutely and continued staring at the yellow and white lines on the road until they made it to the hotel/bar.

It wasn't a very long drive, but as soon as they found the building, the Impala's occupants could hardly wait to escape – to get inside where it was dry, and if Dean's dreams came true, to discover shelves upon shelves of hard liquor.

Max headed in with a quick "see you guys inside." Despite how convoluted the situation had become, she still wanted a shower and dry clothes. Maybe it'd help clarify some things.

Dean, Sam and Gwen each headed to the trunk to unload their belongings. Gwen removed her bag and smiled sweetly at Sam.

"Dean, we need to talk," Sam said, focused on his brother.

"Save you a drink?" Gwen asked.

Same gave a half-hearted smile and nodded.

As Gwen passed the threshold into the bar, Sam stared at Dean.

"What's up, Sammy?" he started, opening the weapons arsenal in the trunk and tossing a few blades into his duffel. "Need your own room tonight?" He wagged his eyebrows.

"No, Dean, I-" Sam stammered. He took a quick breath and hesitated before continuing. "Are we sure we really want to stay with this group? That we're actually safer with them?"

"Kind of, yeah. I mean, think about it. Bunch of soldiers can take shifts instead of one of us staying awake while the other sleeps. Plus, they have weapons." Dean saw the look his brother was giving him. "And no, it's not because of Max." Although Max certainly has her merits, he added mentally.

"I heard Mona talking to Zack about immunizations. How is there a vaccine for this? I thought no one was immune, but this Manticore place really stocked them up on immunities?"

"Sounds like it." Dean pulled his duffel from the trunk. "You gonna grab anything?" He nodded toward Sam's stuff and the arsenal.

Feeling rushed, Sam selected a blade and pulled his duffel from the trunk. He shut the lid on the arsenal and turned back to Dean, whom firmly closed the trunk. "Why are you being so nonchalant about this? If there really is a vaccine, shouldn't we be looking for it? Take it ourselves and try to find a way to mass-produce it?"

Dean's brows furrowed in frustration. "Because it's not that easy, Sam. There are tons of questions following that theory: How did Manticore make them immune to something that no one else even knew about? Where is this vaccine and why isn't it already being batched and shipped en masse? Is someone purposely holding out on everyone?" Dean began walking toward the bar.

"Exactly. We should be looking for it," Sam argued, following Dean.

"Okay, Sam. Where do we start?" Dean responded, stopping up short and looking to his brother impatiently. "Where do you think it'd be?"

Sam shut his mouth. Of course Dean was right. They didn't exactly have the same network they used to. They couldn't put out very many calls to their trusted friends and other hunters; there weren't very many of them left. If Dean had pushed him to start the search, he'd have told Dean the same thing. What did he expect? Checking under rocks and in old buildings? Besides that, they weren't scientists or manufacturers. What did they know about vaccines and drug factories?

Deflated, Sam ceded to Dean's logic.

"We'll ask them tomorrow," Dean said as they both entered the bar. "Not gonna get much shop talk tonight."