Hello, It's Mrs. Hyde

✧ Ch. 25: Storybrooke - Granny's Diner, Jolly Roger, Tell Me Again ✧

The sun was warm on Jessica's back as she stepped out of Granny's, a to-go tray balanced carefully in one hand and a crisp white pharmacy bag in the other. She hadn't been inside the diner more than ten minutes, but the words Granny offered her as she left still lingered in her chest like a gentle warmth.
"It's real good to see you out and about again, sweetheart," Granny had said with a kind smile, her weathered hand patting Jessica's as she handed over the coffee. "Even if it's only been three days. Town felt a little dimmer without you."
Three days. Jessica blinked at the memory, touched. In any other place, three days wouldn't warrant concern. But here... in Storybrooke? Three days mattered. People noticed. People cared.
There was something safe about that—something terrifyingly beautiful.
Jessica took a breath, the smell of fresh-ground coffee and sugar wafting up from the tray, mingling with the distant scent of sea salt as she turned the corner and headed down to the docks. It didn't take long before the familiar silhouette of Killian's ship—the Jolly Roger—came into view.
As her boots tapped up the wooden plank, she called out over the soft splash of the tide, "Belle? I brought your tea and the vitamins—figured you could use a break from that pirate pantry."
She reached the ship's edge just as Belle came bolting out from below deck, panic flaring in her wide brown eyes.
"Jessica—wait! Don't step on board—!"
Too late.
Jessica had already planted her foot down on the wooden deck with a firm thud. "What are you talking ab—" she started, but stopped as soon as her palm met the enchanted air. Her breath caught. A spark of red magic fizzled at her fingertips and hit the invisible barrier.
She was trapped.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Jessica groaned, pressing her hand harder against the invisible force field just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.
"I'm so sorry," Belle blurted, rushing forward. "Rumple... he enchanted the ship. Said it was the safest way to make sure I stayed put, but I didn't think it would trap anyone else. I— I should've warned you sooner, I just didn't think—"
Jessica raised a hand, shaking her head with a small laugh, even as frustration tickled her nerves. "It's fine, Belle. Truly. At least now I've got someone to suffer with."
Belle's mouth twitched with guilt. "I swear, if I see him again, I will let you use your magic to strangle him. Just for a moment."
Jessica chuckled and passed Belle the hot paper cup and pill bag. "Deal. I'd offer to make you a widow, but I've promised my brother I'd start resolving conflicts with slightly less homicide."
Belle gave her a look—half amusement, half gratitude—and took a long sip of the decaf tea. "Bless you."
Reaching into her coat, Jessica pulled out her phone. "Texting Jefferson so he doesn't freak out. Oh he's gonna love this he told me it could be a trap since Hyde was the whole purpose of trapping you on board but I said it'd be fine."
Jessica giggled as she hit send to Jefferson and then put the phone to her ear
Belle leaned her hip on the wooden railing, sipping her tea. "And the call?"
Jessica smirked, her fingers scrolling until she found the number. "Hyde. I made him take one of Jefferson's burner phones last night. I told him if he wanted to slink off with his vengeance and brooding, the least he could do was let me contact him."
Belle smiled. "How... modern of you."
The phone rang only twice before Hyde's deep voice came through the line. "I told you I'd call you when it was done, not when I was in the middle of a confrontation."
Jessica grinned. "Good morning to you too, sunshine."
There was a pause. Then a chuckle, low and genuine.
"I take it something's wrong," Hyde said.
"Oh, only mildly infuriating," she replied. "I'm stuck on Killian's ship. Rumple put some binding spell on it to keep Belle in, and apparently you out—and me..in, now, I guess. And no, I can't magic my way out. I already tried."
Hyde sighed heavily on the other end. "That man has a frustrating affinity for inconvenient enchantments."
"Yeah, well," Jessica muttered, "I think this trap was meant for you, not me."
"I figured," Hyde replied. "The man is nothing if not annoyingly strategic, but as per usual he's arrived at the wrong conclusions. I had no intentions of going after Belle, as I'm aware you've become friends with her. Stay below deck, both of you. I'll handle it. Perhaps it's time we truly negotiated. For the sake of the women we love."
Jessica blinked.
She smiled. "Say that last part again."
Hyde's voice was quieter now, almost fond. "You heard me the first time."
"Say it again," she repeated, almost teasing. Her cheeks flushed warm.
Hyde exhaled a breath that could've been a laugh. "I love you, Jessica."
Jessica bit her bottom lip, giddy despite herself. "I love you too."
There was a pause on the line. "Youd have better," Hyde said, smirking audibly. "Because I have plans for the future, my dear, and you're in all of them."
Jessica laughed softly. "Go deal with Jekyll, then call me when you've won."
"Stay safe," he ordered gently, then hung up.
As Jessica lowered the phone, she caught Belle watching her with a smile, her teacup cradled close.
"You two are...something," Belle said quietly, amused.
Jessica turned, shrugging. "Don't know what yet. But... something, yeah."
Belle's smile faded slightly. "I just hope we're not stuck here for long. Rumple's magic—he cast it to keep Hyde out and me in. But now with you here, I'm starting to wonder...who else it could trap on board with us."
Jessica's brow furrowed. A spike of unease bloomed in her gut.
Jessica exhaled and gestured toward the stairs leading to below deck. "Let's go below deck. Just in case. Better not to advertise we're here."
Belle nodded. "I'll get some muffins. Or something. Might as well have a proper snack with our prison sentence."
Jessica followed her below deck, her mind already turning through every dark possibility, fingers brushing over her bracelet for comfort. Still, part of her—some stubborn little ember—was warmed by the simple fact that someone had told her I love you today.
It didn't fix the chaos around them.
But it was a damn good start