Chapter Text
The doorbell rang precisely at 9 PM. The entire Cameron family stood on the doorstep—Ward, Rose, Sarah, Rafe, and Wheezie.
Klaus opened the door, not with aggression, but with a calculated calm that suggested he was already ten moves ahead in whatever game was about to be played.
Rafe's eyes went wide first. "Maybank?" he blurted out, seeing JJ standing in the Mikaelson living room.
Sarah looked equally shocked. "JJ? What are you doing here?"
The Cameron siblings exchanged looks of pure confusion. JJ, wearing designer clothes, and standing confidently among the Mikaelsons, was not the Pogue they knew.
Rose stepped forward, her composure professional but with an underlying tension. "We need to talk," she said, her gaze sweeping the room.
The Mikaelsons arranged themselves like a supernatural court—Klaus by the fireplace, Hayley beside him, Rebekah and Kol positioned strategically, Hope and JJ forming a united younger front.
“I'm sorry, but I have to ask why JJ is here. And why does Hope tell people he is her brother? Did you adopt him?” Sarah asked confused
"No," JJ said, looking at the shocked Cameron siblings. “ I'm a Mikaelson. Hope's twin brother."
Rafe looked like he'd been slapped. “ what?"
Hope stepped closer to JJ, a protective gesture. "Twin brother," she repeated firmly.
Wheezie tilted her head. "Okay," she said, seeming to accept this with remarkable calm. "So what are we here to discuss?"
Ward cleared his throat. "Shall we sit?" he suggested, clearly wanting to move past the shocking family revelation.
Klaus's smile was something between amusement and predatory anticipation. "Indeed," he said. "Let's talk."
The Cameron family exchanged looks. Their carefully planned conversation had just been derailed before it even began.
Rose Cameron took control, as she always did. "This isn't just a social call," she said, her professional demeanor cutting through the shock of JJ's revelation.
Ward remained unnervingly silent, his eyes occasionally darting between JJ and Hope.
"Royal Merchant," Klaus said, not a question. "You've been protecting something far more complex than gold."
Rafe looked like he wanted to say something, but Sarah's hand on his arm stopped him. The Cameron siblings were clearly out of their depth in this supernatural chess game.
Wheezie, however, leaned forward. "How much do you already know?" she asked, addressing the Mikaelsons directly.
Hope's hybrid senses were on high alert, scanning the Camerons for any hint of deception. JJ watched, still adjusting to this new family dynamic.
"Enough," Hayley said simply, "to know there's more to the story."
Ward shifted slightly, the first sign that the Mikaelsons were making him genuinely uncomfortable.
Rose folded her hands, the professional mask sliding back into place. "The Royal Merchant isn't just about gold," she began. "It's about protection."
Klaus leaned forward, his blue eyes intense. "Protection of what?"
A moment of silent communication passed between the Cameron parents. Ward finally spoke. "Something that shouldn't be found," he said carefully. "Something that could change everything."
Rafe glanced at his siblings, then back to the Mikaelsons. "Not everyone in our family knows the full story," he added, a hint of something—a warning? Promise?—in her voice.
Wheezie looked uncomfortable. Sarah looked like she wanted to bolt.
"And the Pogues?" Hope asked, her gaze sharp. "How do they fit?"
Rose's response was measured. "Some pieces are meant to remain hidden."
The room fell silent, the supernatural energy crackling with unspoken secrets.
Ward leaned forward, his composure slipping for just a moment. "The Royal Merchant carried more than gold," he said, the words weighted with decades of secret-keeping. "A bloodline. Protection."
Kol, who had been silent until now, let out a low laugh. "Protection from what?"
The Cameron siblings exchanged glances. Rafe looked like he wanted to speak but was holding back. Wheezie, always the wisest, watched the interaction with sharp eyes.
"Not what," Rose corrected, her voice low. "Who."
Klaus's eyebrow raised. "And who might that be?"
A moment of tense silence filled the room. The supernatural energy seemed to pulse, waiting.
"Some secrets," Ward said carefully, "are better left buried."
Hope's senses were on full alert. JJ watched, caught between his new family and the unfolding mystery.
"We're not here to bury secrets," Hayley said, her voice a quiet threat. "We're here to uncover them."
JJ suddenly leaned forward, a movement so sharp and direct it stopped the conversation cold. "Stop talking in circles," he said, his voice carrying an intensity that was eerily familiar to Klaus and Hope, but utterly shocking to the Camerons.
Rafe took a step back, unnerved by how much JJ suddenly sounded like Klaus. The precise diction. The dangerous edge. The unwillingness to play games.
Sarah whispered something to Ward.
Wheezie stared, her analytical mind trying to process this transformation.
Rose looked momentarily thrown her professional facade cracking.
Klaus watched with a hint of pride. Hope gave a small, knowing smile.
"Tell us," JJ continued, sounding exactly like his father would, "exactly what you're protecting."
Ward Cameron's professional composure finally cracked. The intensity radiating from JJ—so reminiscent of Klaus—was pushing him past his carefully constructed defenses.
"Not here," he said, a tremor in his voice. "Not with everyone present."
Wheezie looked frustrated. "Dad—"
"No," Ward cut her off.
Rafe muttered something under his breath. Sarah remained silent, but her eyes were darting between JJ and the Mikaelsons.
Klaus leaned back, watching. Hope's hand was subtly on JJ's arm—part restraint, part support.
"We've protected this secret for generations," Rose said, her voice low. "The Royal Merchant was never just about gold."
JJ's response was immediate and sharp. "Then start talking."
The room held its breath. The supernatural tension was a living thing now, coiling and waiting to strike.
Rose took a deep breath. "The Royal Merchant carried more than treasure. It carried a bloodline. A lineage that needed protection."
Ward continued, reluctantly. "A bloodline with... abilities. Supernatural capabilities that could destabilize everything if discovered."
Wheezie added, "Some of the original settlers weren't just settlers. They were something else. Something that needed to remain hidden."
JJ glanced at Klaus. A silent communication passed between them.
"And if this gets out," JJ said, leaning forward with a predatory intensity that was pure Mikaelson, "to anyone. Pogue. Cameron. Outsider. Anyone." His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "You'll wish you hadn't."
Klaus's smile was cold. Calculating. "My son speaks wisely," he added. "Some secrets remain secrets. By any means necessary."
The Cameron family went completely silent.
Hope watched a mix of pride and amusement in her eyes.