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It felt like someone was using a sledge hammer on his brain.
When he finally got his eyes to cooperate and open for him, all he could see was darkness. It was cold. Damp. And there was this incessant dripping noise, resounding off hollow walls, making it sound unreal.
He tried to move, get up, but his body refused, shooting pain up his back, adding to the pounding in his head.
Laying still, getting his breathing under control, Steve took stock of what he was feeling. Pounding head, check. Neck sore but otherwise fine, check. Arms bruised but nothing broken, check. Chest, breathing, fine, check. Legs scraped, bleeding in places but nothing broken, check.
Wait. That’s just one.
Numbness. Steve tried to feel for his left leg, touched along his hip, fingers slowly moving further down until they hit metal. A lot of metal. Pinning down his leg, cutting of all feeling, but hopefully not worse.
Why the fuck is it so dark?! Where am I and what had happened anyway?!
Sweeping the ground around himself, as far as he could reach, Steve sighed in relieve when his hand closed around his cell phone. Hitting a random button brought the screen to light, but also showed him that reception was worth crap. He just hoped either he had told anyone where he went, which was not very likely all things considered. Or that his GPS was still working and able to be located even down in this metal tomb he was apparently stuck in.
Then the dripping stopped.
Steve flashed his light around the room just in time for the splash of water breaking through the wall to the far side hit the beam before its force smashed Steve in the face, bouncing his already tender head against the cold metal floor, making him black out for minutes or hours he didn’t know.
He could only guess that it hadn’t been too long, by the level the rising water was at. And it was rising fast.
His lower half already completely submerged, Steve tried grabbing around himself for anything that would help him get the junk of metal off his leg, so he could try and make it to the hatch that had to be up there somewhere.
His hand closed around a metal beam. Dragging it over took almost more than Steve had left, but he made it, jamming the thing underneath the block on his leg, and trying to find leverage to hoist it up.
Nothing moved.
Calculating the angle, probable weight of the thing pinning him down, strength of the beam he had, Steve realized he had only once chance, if that. He had to wait for the water to take some of the weight, help him lift up the trap and not drown in the process.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Steve tried to relax, to focus, to visualize the task and center himself.
Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.
Water climbed up around his body. Engulfing his chest, his shoulders. Laying his head back and taking one last deep breath, Steve ducked underneath the surface, repositioned the pole and hoisted, moving the metal just enough for him to be able to pull his leg out.
And he thanked his lucky stars that it wasn’t stuck any more then that.
Swimming to the surface, Steve grabbed hold of the ladder mounted to the wall and quickly made his way up, reaching the hatch.
It didn’t move.
Stuck in a sealed metal hole, filling quickly with icy water and no way out, Steve felt his adrenaline spike. But even the force generated by rising panic did nothing to open him up any exits.
Taking a desperate breath, Steve dropped back into the water, swimming towards the hole the water had forced into the wall. Sharp edges cut his hands as he grabbed for hold, feeling out the space, wishing he had any light that would make him able to see what was on the other side.
Making a split decision, Steve ducked through, struggling against the still flowing water, cutting up his back and legs as he squeezed to the other side, Steve felt the darkness closing in around him. His already limited vision started to black out around the edges. The urge to breathe making him struggle to focus. His arms and legs slowing down, getting heavy, dragging him back down.
A glimpse of light the last thing that registered before everything went completely black and silent.
The first thing to register with him was the feeling of lightness. Then the constricting pain in his chest. Then hands on his body, pressure forced down his throat.
Coughing up water, Steve turned his aching body to the side, hands helping him out, steadying him, soothing him.
Words. Whispered against his ear? Voices all around him, but all he could concentrate on was coughing up water and trying to breathe.
Air is good. Just give me a minute.
Falling back, he stared up at the blue sky. Four worried faces staring back down at him from all directions. Expecting…. What?
“’m fine.”
“The hell you are! You stupid fucking Neanderthal! What were you thinking?! Going down there on your own? Not telling your team where you were going!? This is our case! Our as in the whole team, not just you! You’re not the only one working this task force, you really, and I mean really need to get a grip on that whole concept….”
Gripping onto Danny’s arm to shut him up, Steve noticed for the first time that his partner was drenched. Clothes, hair, even the fucking tie was dripping wet.
“What happened to you?” Steve interrupted.
“Me? What happened to me, he asks!” Danny ranted on. “I had to go in there to save your super-SEAL-ass, mister! That’s what happened to me!”
Before Danny could go on, Steve smirked up at him. Making Kono, Chin and Max take a hesitant step back, knowing whatever was to come would set off one hell of a Danny-explosion.
“But Danno don’t swim.” Steve smiled, letting Danny’s words wash over him and make everything better.