Three Hours

First Hour



This was one of those moments where Shaw had the right to not be happy and boy was she not happy. They were supposedly on their way to deal with a number when their elevator got stuck…stuck! What were the odds of that happening, especially getting stuck with Root, the Machines main link? She swore if this was some sort of sick joke the Machine was playing she was going to kick it’s ass.



“This is your fault, you realize that don’t you?”



Root seemed unaffected by their predicament and just grinned, “Oh? And how is that?”



Shaw crossed her arms across her chest and glared at the hacker, “Anything to get me alone with you.”



“If I wanted to get you alone, I would be able to do that anywhere. I wouldn’t have to resort to getting us stuck in an elevator, Shaw.”



Shaw noticed the use of her last name, normally it was Sameen or Sam, Root only used Shaw if she wasn’t in one of her flirty moods which isn’t often, that woman could flirt her way into a paper bag.



Looking away Shaw muttered a, “Whatever,” under her breath and just stared at the wall.



Root smirking at her side.



Second Hour



“Seriously, how long does it take to fix a damn elevator? Can’t you ask the Machine to hurry it up?”



Shaw threw her jacket to the side and stared up at the ceiling hoping the damn thing would start up, like maybe her mentioning the Machine would make it magically fix itself.



Clenching her fists Root rested her head against the wall and inhaled a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. Seemingly not noticing Shaw’s question, the Persian staring at her, “Root?”



“Yes?”



“The Machine? Can she go a little quicker?”



“Believe me, she’s trying, don’t forget she’s brand new again.”

“Yeah, yeah, just try not to suck up all our oxygen before we get out of here.”



Third Hour



Root was really starting to look a little pale, the sweating wasn’t helping much either.



“You feeling alright there, Root? You don’t look so good, not that I blame you, WE’VE BEEN STUCK IN HERE FOR THREE HOURS!” Shaw just yelled at the camera in the corner of the still stalled elevator.



There was silence for five minutes before Root growled and scrambled to her feet and began pacing in the confined spot. A look of surprise and then worry flashed across Shaw’s face, she’d never seen the hacker like this before. Her breaths were coming in shorter and she was trembling slightly, her hands clenched into fists so tightly she must be leaving marks on the palms of them.



“Whoa there tiger, calm down.”



“Calm? You want me to be calm? I’ve been trying to stay calm for these past few hours. But you know what Shaw, I can’t stay calm anymore. DAMN IT, DO SOMETHING!”



Root started pounding on the wall frantically, scratching at the walls like maybe she could claw her way out. Tears mixing with the perspiration on her face and the hyper ventilating causing Shaw to shoot up and force her to sit on the ground. Root struggled trying to slip out of Shaw’s grasp and reach for the door, kicking her legs in every direction. Her eyes wide like an animal stuck in a cage, fight or flight kicking in. But she was shoved back against Shaw’s chest her hands held crossed against her chest.



“ROOT! Root, calm down, you’re okay! Calm down, don’t think about it, listen to my breathing, inhale when I do and exhale when I do, come on.”



It took Root a few moments to tire out before she sagged in defeat against the Persian resting behind her and she tried to focus on her breathing. Trembling she tried to ignore that she felt like the walls were closing in on her. Feeling light headed her head fell back against Shaw’s shoulder, closing her eyes.



A broken, “Sameen” whimpering from Root’s lips.



“You’re okay, just breath, we’ll be out of here soon. Just focus on me.”



A sarcastic, “I never thought I’d hear you say that.”



“Shut up and breath,” Shaw just smirked and relaxed her hold, “Who would’ve thought you were claustrophobic.”



Root let out a weak smile, “Story for another time, maybe.”



Then the elevator jerked upward and they were moving again, “See, your Machine came in the knick of time.”



Remaining seated Root just hummed in agreement and tried to compose herself, “Next time we’re taking the stairs.”



“And watch you try to climb fifty flights of stairs would be amusing with how out of shape you are.”



“Then I guess you’re just going to have to whip my butt into shape.”



Arms still wrapped around Root she just hummed in agreement.