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Bell knew something was wrong. Had known since her first text a few days ago went unanswered. And the ones after that. Not all the texts that left Xavier's phone going crazy were her. She was doing better about not making an ever-present annoyance of herself - for that was what she truly felt like some times, even still. But that didn't stop the worry that coursed through her, although some of that was lessened by the fact that she had, indeed, called the hospital and been told that he was not, in fact, there.
And so she finally made the decision that she was going to drop by. Whether or not she had tried calling before then was unknown. She had. And now she was there, and met with a locked door. Several minutes spent knocking, waiting, knocking, and waiting proved fruitless. She sought other means of entry.

Because she was getting in there, damnit.

She observed the building from the outside, and found her one last option. Getting up there would be easy enough. A transformation and a jump or two later, and she was on the balcony. She tested the door, and found herself successful. Bellatrix reverted back to Bell, who clutched close to her a brown paper bag with a clear plastic container of home-made cake-batter ice cream.
Quietly she snuc through the apartment looking for Xavier, and there he was, on the couch. Bell stood there in the doorway of the living room and called out gently, somewhat unsure of how he'd react to her sudden appearance. Her breaking and entering, as it were.

"Hey~"

Again, she knew something was wrong. And that had been before she even saw him. Bell wondered just what had caused such trouble to be brewing in those eyes, but that was his information to share, and better for it to be freely given than to take it. Bell gave a soft smile and walked towards him, and stated simply, "I brought you some ice cream," she gestured to the bag that contained the cold Tupperware.

Bell sat the bag down on some safe flat surface, then sat on an unoccupied edge of the couch. She could have said 'I was worried,' could have asked 'why didn't you reply to my tests, or answer my calls?' but she said nothing. Nothing to make him feel eve worse, and Bell knew that would. She merely reached out and combed some of Xavier's hair aside, out of his face, all while keeping that gentle smile. Sigh. She could protect him from everything, anything, except himself. And she knew by now that was a battle she'd never win.

"Some things are sent to try us - our hope, our faith. Things will continue to go wrong, because there is always a lesson to learn from them," Bell said, gently running her knuckles along his jaw, "At least, that's what a fortune cookie told me once." A little light-hearted chuckle followed, as if trying to bring a little light in to the dark room.

Silence passed for a moment, before she finally said;
"I can't begin to imagine what you're thinking right now, but no matter what goes wront, what went wrong, I'll be here."

You know, Freud would say Xavier had an over active id. Not that Bell had ever studied psychology - it wasn't exactly offered at Crystal Academy. However she didn't need psychology to understand by now that Xavier took every so called 'failure' very personally, and hard.

"You might think you are, you might truly believe that, but I don't, and I bet if you ask him, he doesn't either." Bell spoke firmly, but soft. "I don't know what happened, but I'm sure whatever happened wasn't your fault. He is the more experienced senshi, if he couldn't do better, than that is his failure, not yours. Then again, maybe it is neither of your faults. Some things just...happen." And that was the hardest thing for bell to accept, but she was learning, slowly, that such was sometimes the case.

Bell just wrapped her arms around him and held him tight, "There is nothing to apologize for - you're being you. I accept that. I love you despite that." She placed a soft, short, kiss on his temple.

"So do what you need to do, for as long as you have to. And just when you think you fight this war alone, I'll be there, by your side, on the front line." Reassurance, acceptance. It was perhaps the best she could offer.

Bell just smiled, "I know the feeling. I thought the same thing when Astrea awakened me." And that was the truth. The only thing was, "Once I came to terms with being a senshi, my only regret would be having let go of all my hopes and dreams. So, hold on to that. Things will turn around."

For someone who had given up her dreams, Bell did her best, for his sake, to have faith in the future, to spur him on. He was her hope now, and maybe she was just a parasite along for the ride, clinging to the light cause she had none. It didn't change the fact that, in the end, they needed what each other had to offer.

Bell wasn't pushing him away. No, never. She couldn't help the bitter sweet smile, "I promise," she paused as she nuzzled her face in his hair and delivered another light kiss to his cheek this time, then whispered, "Because you're my hope."
And that was when she was glad he couldn't quite see her from this position, because all this talk, these thoughts, had her somewhat teary. She wasn't as good at keeping her emotions contained. No. She was the girl that cried at all the sentimental bits in movies, and could go through a box of tissues watching Where the Red Fern Grows. The tears that threatened, though, weren't sad, but bitter sweet. And she was smiling.