A/N: If my first thought after seeing that S6 gif on Tumblr was 'Eric you bastard' and my second was the image of Pam saying 'All I ever did was love you,' then my third thought was: Clifford would be pissed. Hence, I decided we all could use some more Clifford fluff. This isn't set after that particular altercation, but there has been a heated exchange (probably over Sookie - what else?). Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Hell Hath No Fury
Eric crept into the house, unsure about what his reception would be after his fight with Pam earlier that evening. He winced a little as the sound of the door closing seemed to echo around the house.
He froze at the low, angry growl from behind him.
"I'm sorry Pam," he apologised, holding his hands up in surrender, "I should never have said those things to you and…"
He trailed off as he turned around to find Clifford standing behind him, teeth barred and hackles raised.
"You're not Pam," he said after a moment, "where's Pam?" he asked, making to walk passed the dog.
Clifford growled again and snapped at him, instinctively Eric stepped back out of range. Realising the ridiculousness of his predicament, Eric flashed his fangs and growled.
Clifford snarled back and stood his ground.
Eric blinked, he'd never seen Clifford act this way before; if he hadn't found the whole display mildly irritating, he probably would have been impressed.
"Where's Pam?" he repeated, speaking through his fangs.
Clifford crouched low, preparing to attack.
"Clifford, it's me," Eric told him in what he hoped was a placating tone as he retracted his fangs; he was rather fond of these pants and was fairly certain Pam would never forgive him if he hurt her dog.
Even if it was in self-defence.
"It's all right, baby," Pam said, stepping into the hallway, "you can let him in."
At her voice Clifford wagged his tail and padded over to where she leant against the doorframe; sitting down at her feet he continued to eye Eric.
"I thought dogs were supposed to be man's best friend," Eric commented, trying not to be too disturbed by the way Clifford was glaring at him.
Pam raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms, "What would you do with a best friend? You clearly don't need one."
"Pam, I…I'm sorry," he took a step towards her, only to stop short as Clifford growled at him again. "Is he going to do that all night?" Eric demanded, gesturing to where Clifford was baring his teeth.
Pam shrugged a shoulder, "He's protecting me," she said easily, bending down to take Clifford's head in both of her hands. "You're just protecting me from that mean old Eric aren't you?" she asked in the 'baby' voice she reserved just for him and scratching behind his ears.
Eric narrowed his eyes, "I'm still here you know."
Two sets of eyes – one chocolate and one blue – turned to glare at him.
"I'm aware of that," Pam drawled, still crouching down in front of Clifford, "I just don't want to see you right now," she continued, turning back to Clifford and making 'goo-goo' faces at him.
"Fine," Eric grumbled after a moment as Pam continued to ignore him, "let me know when you're ready to listen to my apology," he added, stalking up the stairs and missing Pam stick her tongue out at his retreating form.
Eric was aware of himself enough to admit that one of the many things he loved about Pam was that she could never stay mad at him for long. It was still another two weeks before she stopped giving him the cold shoulder, but he managed to appease her in the end.
Bizarrely it was Clifford who took the most convincing to forgive him; it was another two weeks after Pam forgave him before he stopped growling every time Eric entered the room. Three more before he allowed Eric to pat him and another month before he was his usual affable self.
Clearly the popular saying had gotten it wrong: it wasn't the fury of a scorned woman you had to look out for, it was the fury of her dog.