He feels the weight of Alex's words in the space between them, heavy and unhappy. There's no magic word that Apollo can say that will make any of it better. There's no dreaded enemy to vanquish that will suddenly make Alex's life that much easier. It's just a matter of squaring up to the painfully human weight of responsibility, love and failure. Apollo's heart drops in to his stomach in pity for Alex. And for his son. Carefully, gently, he reaches out with a warm hand to cover Alex's forearm with a sympathetic squeeze.

"That's still something."

It's a damn sight better than nothing.