He's been alive long enough to have seen trauma, to see the way it changes people, and there's a shift in her that might be unnoticeable to some, but he sees it. The fight changes and Sweeney knows fighting better than he knows just about anything and suddenly it's not a game, suddenly she's fighting for her life.

He's never fought for his life. When it came to that, he fucking ran.

"Whoa," he says and he doesn't stop fighting, but his hand falls from her neck, reaches down to grab one of her wrists, even if he doesn't know if he'll be able to stop the blow. It doesn't matter, he'll take it, he's taken worse, but he's not prepared to have her walk away from this rattled. "Careful, love, it's all friendly here."