Just Imagine...

I Wanna Make You Laugh Again

Jack was in one of those moods again. The ones where he just sat in his office and stared off into space with a sad look in his beautiful ocean blue eyes. Sam hated it when he got like this. The whole team hated it. And it was nearly impossible to snap him out of it.
"How is he?" Sam asked Ianto when he came down the stairs from Jack's office with a frustrated sigh.
"It's no use, Sam," he said, "he won't respond to anyone. He's really in a mood this time."
"Let me take a crack at him." Sam murmured, patting his shoulder and giving him a quick peck on the cheek.
"Thank you." Ianto whispered, just loud enough for Sam to hear.
She took a deep breath before walking into her son's office.
"Hey Jacksie!" She exclaimed, putting on a big grin, "how're you feelin', huh? How's my wonderful, beautiful, best baby boy?"
"Mom, please," Jack sighed heavily, "like I told Ianto, I wanna be alone right now."
"Oh, c'mon," Sam said, sitting on the edge of his desk and placing a firm hand on his shoulder, "what's the matter? You look so blue - and not just because you're wearing blue."
Sam couldn't be certain, but for a second she thought she saw the corner of Jack's mouth twitch into the beginnings of a smile. Of course! Laughter was the only cure for Jack's moods, Sam knew that to be true.
"Hey," she said, smirking, "did you just smile, Jacksie?"
"Mom, please," Jack said, "I'd rather be left alone."
"I think you smiled a little," Sam teased, "and I'm not leaving until I hear you laugh."
"Ha ha ha," Jack said dryly, "happy?"
"Don't sass me," Sam said, "I'm your renther. And I know how to make you laugh." She lightly tapped the end of his nose and he finally turned his head to look at her, evidently biting the corners of his mouth.
"Stop it." He said.
"I recall a certain instance," Sam mused, standing up to pace around the office, "when a certain employee of this institute, named Owen Harper, got into a rather fierce debate with two other members of our team, Gwen and Ianto, about the pronunciation of a word."
"Mom, I'm serious, stop it," Jack murmured, almost pleadingly, "don't make me laugh."
Sam knew she had him now.
"And that word was-"
"Don't!"
"Epitome."
Just as Sam had predicted, Jack's body started to shake with uncontrollable giggles as he covered his face to try in vain to hide his smile. That was the thing with her son; if something made him laugh once, it always would.
"Or as Owen would say, EPITOM." Sam added, which inevitably caused Jack to lapse into further hysterics. His head snapped back to reveal the wide, open-mouthed grin on his face and he slipped down in his chair slightly.
"Do the impression again!" He gasped through his laughter. Sam beamed.
"Why, certainly." She said, laying a hand on her chest. She cleared her throat. "Owen, it's eh-pit-oh-me, not epi-tome, you idiot!" She exclaimed, mimicking Ianto's voice, then she switched to Owen's, "what the bloody hell are you on about, Ianto? I've always said epi-tome, you're ludicrous!" Then Gwen's; "Owen, you're saying that you, a doctor, have been mispronouncing a word your whole life? You're stupid! - I am not! You're all messing with me! - Owen, I wish I could say we were, because that would be less embarrassing for you. - Oh, shut the fuck up, Ianto, and wipe that smirk off your face!"
Jack had tears in his eyes by now. His arms were wrapped tightly around his belly and was absolutely howling with laughter, kicking his feet up in the air. Sam couldn't help but grin, she loved seeing him laugh like this. Laughter seemed to make the shadows of pain behind Jack's eyes disappear and the weight that always seemed to be on his shoulders lift, and as his mother, it made Sam's heart sing.
"What about the time Toshiko blew up the toaster?" She added, "I was impressed, even I can make toast! I remember I said 'Tosh, my God, when I said I'm the worst at operating in the kitchen, I didn't mean it as a challenge!'. And how 'bout the time Gabby stuffed a couple oranges down her shirt and asked Gwen when she was gonna get real boobs?"
"Stop! Stop it!" Jack gasped, hardly able to breathe, "my stomach! I'm gonna die!"
Sam was laughing now too, simply because Jack's hysteria was rubbing off on her. It took a while for the two of them to calm down, and Jack was practically gasping for air when they did.
"Are you okay?" Sam chuckled, walking over to touch his cheek and wipe away his tears of laughter.
"I'm better than okay," Jack panted, "thanks to you." He rubbed his other cheek. "My face hurts from smiling." He giggled. Sam beamed and leaned over to kiss his forehead.
"I'm just glad you're happy again." She murmured. She stayed in Jack's office for a while just to cuddle him, then left him to himself for a bit. She was already excited to tell the others about how she'd snapped Jack out of his mood.