Head Above Water
He didn't know what hit him when he got to the other side of the gate. A gulp of freezing water entered his mouth, and he felt like he was choking. Desperately trying to locate his position, and seeing where the others were, he saw them all struggling against this unexpected welcome. Soon he saw Ronon and Teyla making their way to the surface. Grabbing Rodney by the sleeve, seeing the panic in his eyes, he made way for the surface too. It was dark above his head, and he could hardly see anything. The freezing cold touched his muscles, and he was afraid he would get cramps anytime now. John knew he had to swim upwards, just upwards. His ears hadn't exploded on him, so they couldn't be that deep. It would only take him a few swipes with his legs and feet to get their heads above water. He felt Rodney was setting his feet off to the water now too, and together they swam upwards, still having the feeling as if he could choke any minute.
Then he felt air on his face. He had made it. They had made it. He heard coughing from all sides, as John let out water too. That should not have lasted any longer, he thought. They kept coughing for quite some time, until John noticed lights. It was the gate in front of him. "Come on, we gotta get on the gate!"
They all swam towards the gate, and helped each other on. "Now what?" Rodney said.
"I'll have to dial the gate again to tell Atlantis we got a slight problem here." Without thinking John took a deep breath, and dived back into the freezing water. He swam around the area in front of the gate for a bit until he found the DHD. Dialing the gate as fast as he could, he pulled himself behind it when the gate swirled into existence. Pushing himself off the dialling device, he made his way back up to the surface to tell Atlantis of their little situation.