Author's Note: The songs they dance to in this chapter are Dark Horse by Katy Perry and Say Something by Pentatonix. Their first dance is based off of James Maslow and Cheryl Burke's Tango to Dark Horse. Their second dance is based off of Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough's Rumba to Waiting For A Girl Like You by Foreigner.

WEEK 7

Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, perfect storm
Cause once you're mine, once you're mine
There's no going back

And I will stumble and fall
I'm still learning to love
Just starting to crawl

It's America's Choice week, which means everything – and they really do mean everything – is in America's hands for the first of their dances.

"So, today we'll tell you the song and dance style that the audience voted on for you and then you'll need to open it up to find out a concept and costuming ideas. We'd like you to make a video asking for America's help with those things. Then we can go through and pick out one that you like." Sarah explains to them on Tuesday morning.

"Alright. What is our song and dance style?" Regina's mind is already working.

"You've got a tango to Katy Perry's Dark Horse." Sarah tells them.

"Cool." Emma grins. "I like that song."

"Good. Then I'll leave you two to get to work."

Emma's already got her phone out, set up to record.

"Hey, America!" Emma waves at the camera and Regina offers up a small wave of her own. "It's America's Choice Week, so that means that you guys get to call the shots for one of the dances that Regina and I do. So far, we know that you've picked for us to do a tango to Dark Horse by Katy Perry. But now we need some ideas for a concept."

Regina takes over then. "So we'd like your input on what concept and costumes you'd like to see. We'll look them over and pick a favorite."

They end the video and send it out and replies begin filtering in almost immediately. Emma wants to sit and watch them, but Regina is ready to get to work.

"We need to start work on our second dance, Emma. We'll deal with this in a little while."

Emma puts the phone down and stands up. "Okay. So we've got a tango. What else do we have?"

Regina looks down for a moment before she looks back up at Emma. "A rumba."

A rumba. Emma's eyes close for a minute. That's the dance that Regina had done with Robin. She shakes her head and smiles at Regina.

"Okay. So it's supposed to be pretty sexual right?" Emma asks, trying not to think about Robin's hands on Regina's body.

"It's supposed to be sensual." Regina corrects. "It's not about being raunchy, it's about the connection between people. Many people consider it to be very sexy, but at its heart, it's sensual. Intimate."

"Okay." Emma nods, moving closer to Regina. "I can do that."

Regina's eyes rake over her body before meeting her eyes again. "I know you can."

If Emma thought practicing for the samba was bad, practicing for the rumba is worse. They're even closer and now Emma knows what it's like to actually be with Regina, so everything is just heightened. More than once, Emma thinks about saying screw it all and just throwing Regina to the floor, cameras be damned. But she refrains. Just barely.

Regina has her doing a deep split and a balancing extension in their rumba and they're both very difficult. They both require a huge amount of flexibility on Emma's part, but also a huge amount of trust in Regina, that she won't let her fall.

Emma's completely certain that Regina won't let her fall in the dance. It's just too bad that Emma's already fallen for Regina when it comes to her emotions.

It also doesn't help matters than their song is saying what Emma wishes she could say to Regina.

I'll be the one if you want me to.

So she's glad when Regina calls it quits on the rumba practice to go check out the ideas that have been coming in from America.

Emma pulls up her Twitter feed and begins to go through the notifications.

"Cowboys," Emma reads the first one, her nose scrunching up just a bit.

"No." Regina shakes her head.

"Futuristic."

"No." Regina says again, looking at her own feed. "Ah, here we go – we want to see Emma lead a dance."

"Me? Lead?" Emma bites her lip. "Do you think I could?"

"You can be quite demanding when you want to." Regina says, the innuendo not lost of Emma.

She looks back down at her phone so she won't take the bait. "Egyptian theme. That's a direct rip off of the music video. I don't think so."

Regina sighs, not at all pleased with any of the options she's seeing. But then, Emma gasps. "This is it!" Emma reads the tweet aloud to Regina, "A play on your titles. Regina is a queen and Emma is her savior – her white knight."

Regina mulls it over for a moment before a slow smile spreads over her face. "Now that, we could work with."

"It would be perfect. Team Swan Queen actually doing a dance where you're a queen. It's awesome. Let's do it!"

"You have to be the one who is in control," Regina tells her for about the hundredth time that night, when they're back at her house, sitting on the back deck and drinking wine. Emma is content and relaxed and really doesn't want to think about their dances right now. She just wants to enjoy this time with Regina. But Regina is all about the dances, as she's been talking about them all night.

"You need to move me. I will follow, but you have to hold me steady and show me where to go."

And she knows she shouldn't – she knows it will only make the slippery slope she's going down even more treacherous – but she can't help it. She puts down her wineglass and stands up, grabbing Regina's hand and pulling her up from her chair, flush against Emma's body. "I need to move you, huh?"

There's a small gasp that escapes Regina's mouth as their bodies collide. Then her eyes go just a bit darker and she nods slowly.

"I have to hold you steady," Emma slides her other hand down Regina's back until it rests against her ass – and then squeezes. "And show you where to go."

"Emma." She thinks that maybe it's supposed to be a plea, but she can't tell what it's for – to stop or keep going.

Emma decides she's going to keep going. She steps forward and Regina automatically steps back, through the door into the house. "Is this what you mean, Regina?" She whispers into her ear as she continues to move them deeper into the house, towards the living room with the sofa or the stairs that lead to Regina's bedroom, whichever they come to first.

There's a long moment where Regina says nothing and Emma prepares to let her go and walk away to a cold shower and more feelings of rejection.

And then Regina's leg comes up to wrap around her waist.

"Yes."

And that's all that Emma needs.

"I think I'm in trouble, Lily." Emma says as she flops down onto the couch beside Lily when she gets back to the apartment that night, thinking of all the times she's done exactly that in Boston. Boston, her home, the place she will be returning to without Regina as soon as her time on the show is over. She sighs.

"What? Why?" Lily looks at her, concern etched on her face.

"I think I'm in love with Regina." Emma says.

"Oh, Emma." Lily sighs, rolling her eyes. She'd warned her.

"Actually, I know I'm in love with her." She admits for the first time. "And I know she doesn't love me back." Emma whispers, thinking of how Regina had said once again that they couldn't do this anymore once she'd come back down from the spectacular orgasm Emma had given her. That this was just an infatuation due to all the time that they were spending together. That Regina still loved Daniel and always would .

"Oh, Emma." Lily says again, pulling her into a hug this time.

She doesn't offer anything else, no platitudes or I told you so's. She doesn't offer any advice either. They just sit together on the couch while Emma thinks about everything, the words from their rumba playing over and over in her mind as she thinks about what will happen when the show is over.

You're the one that I love and I'm saying goodbye

"We want a Swan Queen kiss!" Emma reads the tweet with wide eyes. But it isn't just one tweet – it's a bunch of them. Apparently, there's a whole faction of fans out there who want something to be going on with her and Regina.

"Excuse me?" Regina says from where she's just entering the rehearsal space.

Emma holds up the phone. "America's choice – people are saying they want us to kiss."

"Emma –" Regina says and there's reproach in her voice, like she thinks Emma is making this up just to toy with her.

"Look." Emma thrusts the phone forward. "I'm just reading what people are saying."

"Well," Regina says after she's read the tweets, "that isn't going to happen. Obviously."

"Obviously." Emma nods, avoiding meeting Regina's eyes.

She's in love with Regina and Regina isn't in love with her. So Emma has to focus on the only thing she can have with Regina – dancing.

"So, should we run the tango again?"

Emma's costume for the tango is a white suit with gold trim up the sides of the pants and along the edges of the shirt. It's the first time she's gotten to wear pants to dance, along with flat shoes, and she's pretty excited about it.

Regina's costume for the tango is a gold dance leotard with a built in long train to make it appear like a dress. It's studded with rubies around the healthy amount of cleavage it reveals and it shows off Regina's legs beautifully. Emma is very excited about it.

Emma has never loved America more, she decides.

Emma watches as Ruby and Peter get their scores for their Argentine Tango – a 38 from the judges – and sees how Peter spins Ruby around and then kisses her quickly on the mouth. It's so easy between them, so easy for them to touch each other, to kiss each other, that Emma almost hates them for it. But she doesn't. At least not as much as she hates America's Sweethearts – Mary Margaret and David – for all their lovey dovey action.

Emma also wants to ask Ruby how she can do it. How she could have sex with Peter once and then be so at ease with him, without wanting him again and again and again. But then, Emma supposes, that Ruby isn't in love with Peter.

Emma isn't a stranger to one night stands or relationships with no strings attached. If this thing with Regina could've just been that, Emma would've been fine. But instead, she'd gone and fallen in love with the Queen of the Ballroom who was only going to break her heart.

"You okay, Ems?" Ruby asks her once they cut to commercial and Emma offers up a smile at her.

"Of course. Just nervous."

"Don't be." Ruby smiles. "We all know you and your queen are gonna kill it tonight."

Emma closes her eyes and wishes that Regina really was her queen.

The tango is intense.

It was intense in the rehearsals, but for some reason, it's even more intense doing it live.

There's an energy in the ballroom that hasn't been there before. It feels like a live wire, ready to spark at any time. Emma goes with the electricity, moves with the charges, her eyes on Regina the entire time.

She holds tightly to Regina, leading her through the steps, keeping her frame strong. She spins her and pulls her back, keeping control just as Regina had told her. She feels powerful.

As the dance is ending, Regina breaks free from her grasp and runs back up the stairs in the ballroom to her throne. Emma chases after and Regina turns, her hands coming to Emma's face.

This isn't what we practiced is all Emma can think as Regina leans forward, still holding her face, and comes close enough that their lips could brush together. They don't, but depending on the camera angle, it could certainly look like they did.

There's no going back filters through Emma's ears as Regina pushes her away in the last beats of the song, taking her seat on her velvet throne. Emma stumbles but manages to kneel down on one knee in deference as the audience begins to cheer.

Regina's face is unreadable for a moment but then she stands, smiling for the cameras as she helps Emma up from her kneeling position and over towards Sidney and the judges.

"To me, Emma, you are the total package. You have passion and dedication and technique. And when it all comes together, like it did for this dance, it's a winning combination." Astrid starts them off.

"Well, you know. Dance is like fire. Some should warm and some should burn and this tango was burning hot. You came out with great attack. There were a few moments where it seemed a bit too fast for me, bordering on a little manic, but overall, it was hot." Gold tells them. Emma knows they won't be getting a ten from him, but she still smiles at the compliments.

"Emma!" Lacey calls out to her. "What I was so excited to see tonight was you taking the lead on this tango. I know from the package that the viewers had something to do with that and I think for this, it was the perfect choice. And as Gold said, that was smoking hot! Fantastic!"

"What I really loved here was the game play between you." Jefferson grins in that way he has that seems slightly unhinged. "We had Emma the white knight and Regina the… evil queen, perhaps tonight, darling? But we got to see the push and pull between you two and you delivered a mean tango. Well done."

"Sounds like you should be getting some pretty great scores, you two. Why don't you head on up to the skybox to wait and find out?" Sidney tells them.

Tina is there with questions ready. "Regina, we know that you are kind of a control freak when it comes to your dances. So, how different and difficult was it, having America have so much control tonight?"

"It was different because I do like to have control over what we're doing, but I think that having the viewers get involved was a great idea this week. They really pushed me to think about this tango in a much different way, and I'm grateful for that."

"And Emma, I've gotta ask," Tina leans closer, "was that a kiss we saw down on the dance floor?"

Emma feels her throat close and her cheeks heat up, but she knows that she has to answer the question just as though it were any other questions. "Well, some people on Twitter did want a kiss so…" She smiles at the camera.

"The judges have their scores." She's saved by the announcer.

Their tango earns them a 39 yet again.

Emma begins to wonder if they'll ever get that elusive 40.

"Are you ready?" Regina asks and there's just the slightest undertone of nervousness in her voice. Emma doesn't think anyone else would notice it, but she does. She's got her theories as to why Regina is nervous about the Rumba, of course, but she won't bring them up now.

Instead she just smiles at Regina. "Yeah."

They're back to their usual roles – Regina in black dress pants and a white button up shirt taking the lead and Emma in a dance outfit that is skimpy yet still somehow classy. It's got a long skirt that is cut on each side so there is a panel at the front and a panel at the back. There's also a drape that comes down from her right shoulder to her left hip. It's Emma's turn to show off her legs, especially with this routine.

"Alright." Regina nods.

Emma grabs her hand. "Hey." She squeezes it with a smile. "We've got this. We've just got to enjoy it."

Regina nods once and then moves away before Emma can kiss her.

The music begins, the house band's female singer singing the lead vocals.

Regina moves behind Emma and pulls her back flush against her. Emma's hand comes up to splay over her hand, holding for a moment. Then they begin the turns and extensions of the rumba, out and back in, away and close together.

Emma moves into the split in perfect timing with I'm feeling so small and the audience gasps as they see how far down she is going. She keeps her eyes locked on Regina's as she sinks down. Regina's hand is firm on her bare back as she supports her on the way down and then on the way back up.

They come back up and move into more turns before it comes time for the leg extension. Regina sinks back and down in a backwards lunge, while Emma kicks her foot straight up in the air, until it can rest on Regina's shoulder. Regina holds her hands out while Emma leans forward so that she's diagonal with the floor and then carefully lets go of Emma's hands once she's balance.

Emma stays there, suspended in time for a moment before Regina moves back up and Emma's foot drops down while her whole body spins into Regina's in a dip. Then they're back up, moving once again in slow, sensual twists and turns until the final notes of the song begin.

Emma moves forward then, her arms wrapping around Regina's neck as Regina leans back, holding her. Their faces are close together again, their lips nearly brushing and Emma can feel Regina's breath as the song finally fades out and they just hold the pose.

"Emma and Regina!" Sidney's voice breaks through the haze that Emma finds herself in and she carefully stands back up with some help from Regina. "Just beautiful, ladies. Let's go to our judges and see what they think."

Jefferson is up on his feet, arms flailing through the air as he shouts out his praises to them. "This was just breathtaking. Sensual, sexy, classy. That off balance in extension was absolutely superb. Flawless! Flawless! And exactly what I'd expect from a rumba from you, Regina. Flawless!"

"Astrid?" Sidney prompts when the clapping of the audience is too loud for her to speak over.

"Jefferson's right. When you hit that extension and that balance and then to go into that dip on the stumble and fall lyric was just brilliant. That is what's beautiful and what makes this special. You capture the moment in that little bit of time and arrange it perfectly. And to me, you are so beautiful tonight Emma, because we're watching you reclaim, or maybe even for the first time, claim your power. And it's beautiful to watch." Emma's hand comes up to her heart and she nods at Astrid, mouthing 'thank you' to her.

"Let's go to our head judge, Robert Gold."

"You know, what I love about dancing is the variations. The speed and then quiet. The soft, the hard, the big, the small, the fast, the slow. That's what makes great dancing and that's what we've just seen. Wonderful job, dearies." Gold actually smiles at them and Emma feels like maybe, just maybe, they've finally achieved what she's been aiming for. Maybe they'll finally get a ten from Gold.

"And Lacey French."

"I agree with everyone so far and I just have to say, first to you, Emma, that seeing you tonight has been a revelation of sorts for me. Because we've seen that you can dance. But tonight, you showed us that you can really dance. Watching you go from leading Regina in that tango with such ease to now coming back to her leading in this rumba but you being right there with her and you hitting that extension. Astrid talking about power is right – tonight you were powerful. And Regina, when you did the rumba with Robin, I talked about that disconnect I felt between you two. But here, tonight with Emma, I felt like you two could not have been any more connected. It was perfection. Truly."

"Congratulations." Sidney says as he hugs them both before they head for the skybox.

"You were fantastic." Regina says as they begin to climb the stairs up to the skybox. Emma beams.

"Look at you two!" Tina exclaims as she moves in to hug them both. "Tonight, we've seen a sexy tango and an intimate rumba from you. I know you joked a little early about America wanting you two to kiss, but tonight in these dances it was very sensual between you two. Is that at all difficult or strange for either of you? I mean, obviously Regina you're not –"

"I'm dancing with my partner." Regina cuts her off and Emma's glad, because she doesn't think she could stand to hear the rest of that sentence. It isn't as though Emma doesn't already know that Regina isn't a lesbian, that whatever has already happened between them was more than likely some kind of experimentation or something on Regina's part. But Emma doesn't need to hear it again. Not when she's been feeling so good tonight. "Emma and I are no different than any of the other dancers on the show. We are dancing and we are showing the mood of the dance. I know that there are a lot of people out there who are looking for representation and if they get to see us dancing together, being intimate with each other, and that helps them, then I'm happy. I care deeply about Emma and I'm honored to dance with her. So no, it isn't difficult or strange. It's easy and natural and that's the way it should be."

Emma wants to burst out into applause. She also wants to grab Regina and kiss her right there on national television. But she manages to control herself and only smile.

"Alright, let's get your scores." Tina says, sounding thoroughly chastised.

"Astrid Faye."

"It was perfect. 10!"

"Robert Gold."

"You got gold tonight, dearies. 10!"

Emma yelps and jumps onto Regina, hugging her tightly, so pleased to have finally gotten the coveted ten from Gold.

"Lacey French."

"10!"

"Jefferson Tarrant."

"It's a 10!"

Regina lets out her own yelp then, grabbing Emma and spinning her around.

"That's 40 out of 40. Our first perfect score of the season goes to Emma and Regina!"

The skybox is full of chatter as everyone rushes over to hug them and congratulate them.

"Remember," Tina chirps, trying to speak over the din, "we have a double elimination coming up next week. No one is completely safe. They need your votes to help get them through to the semi-finals. So vote, vote, vote!"

Any other time, Emma would've been worried about the results coming up or the double elimination the following week. But right now, she's too happy to care.

Even when Ashley gets eliminated at the end of the show, she finds she can't quite stop smiling.

She was perfect.

She and Regina were perfect.