Harsh breathing.

Turning the small penlight on, Steve run its cold light trough the corners of the little room, tracing its height and depth. It was, indeed, small. And it was even smaller because it contained three persons, trapped inside, with no windows and no light.

"Can you open it?" He asked Junior, who was fighting against the hard steel door.

"No, it's no use" Abandoning his efforts, he rested his back on the wall, exhaling tiredly and rubbing his hands together to get rid of the dirt.

"No no no, keep trying, it has to open" Danny said haltingly, attracting Steve´s attention towards him. The Commander turned the light to illuminate his partner´s face. Rigidly, Danny was showing evident signs of distress. He gave Steve a sideways look but then immediately focused again on the too near walls, which seemed to be closing in on him.

"Hey, relax ok? It will only be a minute and then we´re out of here, all right?" Steve quickly identified that his friend´s claustrophobia was making itself room on this not so spacious room.

"This is so stupid. We are so stupid. Why did the three of us have to get into this tiny room at the same time…"

"Ok, ok". Steve tried to placate the emotional escalade and prevent Danny from becoming more agitated.

"And who said the house was clear. It obviously wasn´t!" That was a fact. Assuming, wrong, that it was all clear, they had entered this six square feet dump with walls decorated with guns and a huge variety of different weapons. It had been a huge mistake, because being trapped was the least dangerous thing that could have happened to them, considering. Well, except for Danny. The rant died there, to give place to a raged breathing.

"Hey, what´s wrong with him" Junior straightened up from the wall, losing his amused smile at Danny´s complaint when he realized it wasn´t a lighthearted one but instead it contained true panic.

"He´s claustrophobic"

"Really?"

"Yes. Junior, contact the Team now. Tell them to come and get us out. Now, as soon as someone can get over here".

"You got it".

"Hey, pal, come on, you´re all right" As Junior did as he asked, Steve focused his attention back on his too edgy friend. Danny bent down and placed his hands on his knees, clearly dizzy and not getting enough oxygen due to the hyperventilation.

"No I´m not. There´s no air. I can´t breathe" Danny´s voice couldn´t hide his distress while he tried to loosen up his shirt collar with a shaking and sweaty hand.

"They´re on the way, they'll be here in no time" Junior announced, hastening on his announcement to help lower Danny´s panic level to give him a break.

"Ok. You know what? Why don´t you sit down and rest your back against the wall. Come on". Steve didn´t ask for permission and motioned Junior to help him. Danny was no longer with them but instead he was already engulfed and completely swallowed by his phobia, in another place that only he could see. Together they handled the detective the best they could, receiving very little cooperation. "Damn it. Call them again, tell them to hurry".

"I will also recommend bringing some oxygen. Maybe an ambulance?"

"Yeah, you do that, good thinking". Steve cursed the darkness they were immersed in. Placing the penlight on the floor at the best angle possible to focus the light on Danny, Steve proceeded to help his friend in taking off his vest and then unbuttoning the upper of his shirt before Danny ripped off the buttons in his desperate attempts to get more air. But the problem was not in the clothing, but in his mind.

"I can´t… I can´t breathe…" Danny closed his eyes. He knew that there was no reason to be scared. He was, deep down, aware of that, but his fear was very real and certainly unmanageable. Just like the walls seemed to fall over and crush him, his chest constricted and did the same with his hammering heart. The lack of light didn´t help any, and the weak penlight draw his panic bigger by showing distorted figures and shapes. He felt the air getting warmer and his lungs automatically responded by shutting down further while his mouth took completely over the task of breathing. They were running out of air! By now, Danny was completely covered in sweat and his harsh and erratic breathing filled and echoed loudly in the confined space.

"Let me out please..." Resting with all his weight against the wall and with his strength practically abandoning him completely, Danny seemed on the verge of passing out. Defeated by his fear, he was in a way willing for the darkness of unconsciousness to take him under its embrace. But unconsciousness had two enemies, who would not let Danny take the easy way out.

The tone of the plea made Steve´s hairs to stand up and him to grab Danny by the biceps and shake him slightly, to make him to come around. "Hey, look at me! Everything-is-fine. We´re getting out of here in a second now. They know our location and they´re coming to get us out". Danny´s frightened and uncertain eyes met his, but trough the gloom it was difficult for Steve to read them, but getting his attention was enough for him. He exchanged a triumphal look with Junior, who was dedicated to the task of waving Danny´s vest up and down to give Danny more air. Wanted to keep Danny´s mind away from his panic, he created a distracting topic to focus on "Hey, how about we go take some beers after this. But you´re buying Danno because I didn´t bring my wallet".

Danny´s face ghosted a smile, but the painful death grip he was giving Steve´s forearm didn´t loose up a bit. He knew what his friend was doing, and listening to him and his distractions was more appealing to him now than falling unconscious, so he made an effort to evade the phobia by focusing his attention completely on his friend´s mouth. Steve´s face, with the dim light coming from bellow, was not the most soothing image but, right now, it seemed to help him to strengthen and back up what he was hearing him say.

"That´s right buddy, you´re paying. Unless we can somehow fool Junior here to do it"

"Uhhh I don´t think so. Besides, I left my wallet at HQ´s also" The young former Seal joined in the game, without quitting waving and generating fresh air towards the detective´s face.

"Juns, we´re at the house. Tell us your location" Tani´s voice filled the small room through Junior´s radio and came along with the sound of sirens approaching.

"Third door on the corridor passing the stairs. It´s a steel one".

Indeed, it was a hard steel. It had been very difficult to open but they had come prepared. What happened next was a big blur for Danny. The almost unbearable noise the door made until it gave up; his friends lifting his non responding body up and dragging it out; him being lied down on a gurney and lifted to the back of an ambulance; him speaking and assuring he was alright; his face being covered with an oxygen mask and he taking it away, repeatedly, until it was replaced by a nasal cannula; him begging not to be taken to the hospital and Steve backing him up, assuming the responsibility by signing the forms the paramedics handled him.

More clearly, he could see himself walking towards the Camaro an hour later to their rescue. Ashamed that everyone had found out about his ´issue´ this way, but completely in his right mind by then, he had evaded every attempt of conversation on the matter, but allowed Steve to drive him home, implicitly postponing the beer for another time.

.-.-.-.-.-

Thank you for reading!