It threw him. It broke his heart over and over. He took a few more of the punches, almost like punishment before he forced his arms up as hard as he could. It threw her back on the ground between his feet, and he quickly covered her in almost the same way she had him, except he took half a second to throw the knife as far as he could manage it and used his hands to hold down her wrists instead of his knees.
"Peggy, you don't need to do this. Hydra isn't here. There is no mission here. SHIELD, Hydra, your handlers-none of them are here. There is no fight." His face was bloody and he could feel more blood and dirt caked to the back of his shirt but it didn't matter, she mattered, getting through to her mattered. He didn't want to have to hurt her any more.