Chap-5

Spike came up the stairs late the next afternoon to find Sagwack still sitting on the table top. "Problem leaving this morning, Jiminy?" Sagwack ignored him as he continued to think. "Hey, do ya hear me?"

"Last night you said that you knew how I felt, to have the one thing you were good at taken from you, your main purpose. I want you to teach me how to go through life without a purpose."

"Hey I have a purpose!" Spike yelled in his defense.

"And what purpose is that?" Sagwack looked up at Spike expectantly, waiting his response.

"I have a purpose, it's a very important purpose. It's ah…protecting the Slayer."

Sagwack looked confused, "But you're a vampire. The Slayer is your natural enemy."

"Look I've got my purpose. It's not my fault you lost yours, so back off!"

"Then I want to share your purpose. We can protect the Slayer together."

"No way!" Spike stuck his head out the door, checking to see if the sun had gone down. "I'm going to Willie's Bar. When I get back, I want you gone, got that?"

"No, wait, let me come with you. You must show me how to protect the Slayer!" Sagwack ran after Spike as he pulled his duster on and walked out the door.

Spike sat down on a bar stool as Willie walked over to him to take his order. "What can I get ya?"

"I'll have an O+." Willie walked off to fill the order.

Just then Sagwack appeared, climbing onto the bar. Spike caught the movement out of the corner of his eye causing him to do a double take. "How did you get here so fast?"

"It's a secret."

"Funny." Willie returned with Spike's blood, placing it in front of him. Willie glanced at Sagwack.

"Is this a friend of yours, Spike?"

"No!" Spike answered quickly.

"Spike and I protect the Slayer together," Sagwack began to explain, but Spike reached for him, covering his face. Many nearby occupants of the bar began to stare at the pair of them. Spike glared at Sagwack.

"Well ah, would you like something from the bar?"

Sagwack had in-taken more than enough liquor for one so small as himself, and was now pretty well drunk. Spike, after having his share as well, decided it was time to leave. He laid some cash on the bar for his tab, getting up to leave. Willie checked the sum before accepting it. "Hey, Spike, who's gonna pay for short stuff here?" Willie asked pointing at Sagwack.

Spike saw Sagwack attempting to get down form the bar to follow him. "Ug! Bloody hell! How much more?"

"About 70."

"What?" Spike yelled.

"Ah, yeah, that's about right."

"Fine!" Spike pulled out some more bills placing them with the rest.

"And here, this belongs to you." Willie handed Sagwack to Spike. Spike sighed, taking the fear demon from Willie and stuffing him in his pocket.

"Where are we going now?" Sagwack asked in his drunken state.

"To the Bronze."

"What will we do there?"

"Don't worry about it."

They arrived at the Bronze a little while later. Spike entered throughthe back way, stopping at the counter for second beforeheading straight up the stairs to the balcony. He sat down at a table that looked over the edge giving him a full view of the ground floor. He felt something struggling to get out in his pocket. "Where are we?" Spike pulledSagwack out of his pocket, setting him on the table. "What are you doing here? Is the Slayer here?"

"Cool your jets, Jiminy," he responded pulling him back away from the edge of the table. "She's right down there." Spike pointed down into the crowd below.

"We must go to her, right? Why are we up here?"

"No, we stay here! She's not supposed to know I'm up here," Spike explained.

A waitress came by a few minutes later with Spike's order he had placed when he had entered. Sagwack turned around on its arrival. "What is this?" he asked smelling it.

"It's a bloomin' onion."

"A bloomin' onion?"

"Never mind."