Author's Note: The songs they dance to in this chapter are Masterpiece by Jesse J and Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. Their first dance is based off of Rumer Willis and Valentin Chmerkovskiy's Foxtrot to Take Me To Church by Hozier. Their second dance is a mixture of a dance from Strictly Come Dancing Ukraine to Billie Jean and Corbin Bleu and Karina Smirnoff's Freestyle to Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson.

WEEK 10

I'm not gonna stop
I like the view from the top (Yeah)

She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene
I said don't mind, but what do you mean I am the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round
She said I am the one who will dance on the floor in the round

Again they have to wait until Tuesday night to find out who makes it to the finals, but Emma and Regina are in battle mode, ready to go on Tuesday morning.

"So, the dances for the finals are an improved dance and our freestyle. Let's tackle the improved dance first." Regina says as they sit at the breakfast table, eating the incredible omelets that Regina made.

If Henry has any questions about why Emma is there for breakfast with them, he certainly hasn't voiced them. He'd just sat down next to her and asked her to pass the bacon like it was a common occurrence to find her at their breakfast table.

"The Foxtrot." Emma and Henry say at the same time and she looks at him incredulously. "How'd you know that, kid?"

"You felt like you messed it up. All the other dances, even the ones where you got lower scores, you enjoyed and were happy with. You need a chance at redemption with the foxtrot."

"I agree," Regina smiles. "We will go back to work on the foxtrot today. We'll pull up a video of it and go through it to see where we can make improvements."

"You want to wait on the freestyle until after we see if we make it to the finals." Emma surmises, crunching on her bacon.

"I have no doubts that we will make it to the finals."

"But…" Emma drawls.

"However," Regina smirks, "I think we should wait just to be on the safe side."

Emma nods. "Agreed. But I've already got an idea."

"You do?"

"Don't look so surprised! My idea for the trio turned out great."

"I never said otherwise, dear. I'm just surprised you've been thinking about this."

Emma shrugs. "Well, I have."

"Alright. But first things first… the foxtrot."

They go to the rehearsal studio and bring up the video there on Regina's laptop. It's hard for Emma to get through watching it the first time, but by the second and third time, she's able to look at it objectively and see all the places she messed up.

"You didn't mess up." Regina keeps insisting, but Emma knows better. "You just got caught up in the emotion. We want that emotion. We just want it a little bit more controlled this time."

Emma looks at Regina sitting next to her and the image of her and Regina dancing together on the screen and she nods. "Yeah. I can do that."

Mary Margaret and David are the first to be told they'll be going to the finals.

Ruby and Peter are the second.

She and Regina are left standing with Jim and Kathryn, waiting for Sidney to finally just say the damn words to tell them who the final couple is.

"I'm so stressed out." She whispers to Regina, just wanting to know.

"The couple with the lowest total of viewer votes and judges points and therefore leaving us right now, one week shy of the finals is… Jim and Kathryn."

Emma drops to her knees at the words, tears streaming down her face. She knows she must look so ridiculous, but she can't help it. They've made it. They've done it.

Regina pulls her up and into a hug, holding her tightly. "You're okay. We're okay."

"I couldn't have done this with anyone but you." Emma says into her hair, holding her tightly. "We made it to the finals!"

"I'm so happy for you." Regina says as she pulls back to look at Emma.

"You too." Emma insists. "You made it too. Not just me. Not me without you."

And Regina's smile is so beautiful, Emma feels like she's already won the mirror ball.

"So, for the freestyle, we can do whatever we want. It's the last dance that is voted on by the audience. It's about bigger and better and larger than life productions." Regina says as they sit down to discuss the freestyle.

"And you've done that in the past. And it's worked." Emma nods, understanding where Regina is coming from. "But I don't want that for us. I want this freestyle to be just us. You and me, together. That's what's brought us this far. That's how I want to win. Not by having a whole troupe of dancers backing us up or fireworks or anything like that. Just you and me. Dancing."

Regina gives her another one of those looks that she can't quite decipher and then smiles.

"Alright. So tell me this idea of yours."

They are scheduled for one more live all access rehearsal on Friday before the live show. They decide they don't want to give anything away, so they'll do a thirty minute live stream where they answer questions.

"Hey Swan Queen fans." Emma greets them. "We're taking a little bit of a break from working our freestyle routine to come say hey to you guys one more time. We're not going to show you any of our routine because we want it to be a surprise, but we will answer questions, so get tweeting."

"While we're waiting," Regina says, sitting down beside Emma, "we just want to take the time to thank you all for all of your love and support."

"Yeah, you guys have been amazing and we know we wouldn't have gotten this far without you. So thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. We love you."

"Alright. Let's answer some questions." Regina begins looking through her phone. "What has been your favorite dance?"

"Oh, wow. I think our rumba – getting our first perfect score – that was really special to me. And our jazz routine was so fun. But I honestly think that my favorite of all of them was our Disney Night samba."

Regina laughs at that. "For me, I think it was our contemporary piece last week. You were a revelation in that dance, for me and for the audience, I believe."

Emma blushes at the compliment and quickly looks down at her phone. "What are you going to do after the show is over? You know, I haven't really thought that far yet. Mostly, I've just been focusing on this. But I think, the first thing I'm going to do, is just sleep in. And then I'll go from there."

"Do you think you'll still dance?" Regina asks and it's not a question from Twitter, but one from her.

"I don't know. I've grown to love it, so I feel like yes, I will. But then, without you… I don't know if it would be the same."

Now Regina looks down at her phone, clearing her throat before reading the next question. "What have you learned from each other this season?"

"Oh wow. Well, there's the dancing obviously. But really, I think Regina has taught me so much about trust. I wasn't a very trusting person before this experience, but she's taught me that it's okay to trust people and to be vulnerable. And I've learned so much about what a mom is supposed to be from her too, seeing her interactions with her son. Just, those real life type lessons."

"Emma showed me how to have fun again. She showed me that it's okay to be weak sometimes because other people will be strong. And she taught me about bravery and strength and determination every day."

"Well," Emma sighs, "after that, we need a lighter question! And here's a great one. What Dubsmash do you want to do but haven't yet?"

Regina laughs. "You know that I am not a fan of those silly videos."

"She totally is." Emma grins. "The Tyra Banks ones? All her idea."

"Emma!" Regina slams their shoulders together.

"I wanted to do the lift scene from Dirty Dancing, but she wouldn't." Emma says, laughing.

"I honestly do not have an answer."

"She so has an answer. She just won't admit it to you."

They get the motion from Leroy that they only have a few minutes left. "Okay, we've gotta wrap this up and get back to work so that our freestyle is amazing for you. So we'll take one more question and then we have to go. Let's see here… oh. Will you keep in touch after the show?"

Regina looks at her and then at the cameras. "Of course we will."

Emma smiles. "Of course we will. Bye guys! We love you!"

"What if I can't do this?" Emma murmurs as she looks at herself in the floor length mirror of the dressing room. She's wearing the same costume from the first time they danced the foxtrot – the long black dress that she really does love – and she can feel her nerves rising.

"You can." Regina says, as though she completely believes. "You have come this far, Emma. You can't quit now. You and I both know you can do this. We both know you need to do this. So come on. Let's go do it."

"Stay with me, Emma." Regina whispers just before they start, a reminder of that first time they'd done this dance. But this time, Emma nods, smiling. This time, Emma will stay with her.

The music begins and they start to move. Emma is focused and determined. As she dances, she thinks of the journey that she has gone through in these past three months and she thinks of Regina and it's just there. The dance is there and it's so easy to dance it now, so easy to let her emotions show without breaking down.

This is her masterpiece. Her and Regina together. It's the best thing that's ever happened to her. And tonight, she's going to show America that.

This time, she smiles as she goes through the steps, keeping Regina's gaze and smiling with joy at what they are creating. When the music ends and they are in their final stance, hands on each other's faces, she leans back and laughs.

"Emma and Regina! Great job! Alright you guys. Jefferson."

"No nonsense. Absolutely pure ballroom bliss. I tell you that now, you are, by your own merit, dancing royalty. The Swan Queen has emerged."

Astrid looks at them both with a huge smile and tears in her eyes. "The first time you did this dance I know that there were issues. But even then it was beautiful. Tonight though, you've shown, really, how far you've come as a dancer. There was nothing else going on except pure, exquisite dancing. And it was flawless."

"Well, the first time you did this dance, I told you that it wasn't a masterpiece to me. Tonight, I can tell you that it was. Phenomenal." Gold claps for them and Emma feels the tears start to fall again.

"Gold is right," Lacey chimes in, "tonight this was a masterpiece. And I know the first time you did this dance that your emotions got the better of you, but tonight, this time, you showcased them so beautifully. This was a journey and this dance proved that. Congratulations."

They earn another perfect score and Emma finally feels the weight of the foxtrot lift off her shoulders. Now it's on to the freestyle.

The ballroom is dark except for the screens lit up with their package. Emma is trying not to watch it, but she can't help but tune in to the last clip of her in one of her interviews.

"To win with Regina. To know that we did this together. That would blow me away."

The screens go dark then and the ballroom is in complete darkness. Emma hears the click of Regina walking and then a spotlight appears, bathing her in light. She's wearing a black suit with a black fedora and when the light hits her, she goes through a quick succession of movements that ends with a turn.

Then Emma walks forward, her own heels clicking in the ballroom. A spotlight lands on her, showing off her white suit and fedora. She goes through the same movements as Regina, ending facing back forward.

Then they turn and walk towards each other, the spotlights following. The music starts and with just the first beats, the audience is screaming. Emma grins as her hand goes to her pelvis, she and Regina both thrusting to the side in time with the beats.

She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene

The audience begins to clap along as they move to the beat, emulating Michael Jackson in their movements. They move around each other, playing and teasing as they go, until Regina moves into Emma's space and she begins to moonwalk – in heels! – back with Regina following. The audience screams their joy.

When she makes it across the ballroom, she takes Regina's hand and begins to move forward in a cha-cha, then Regina spins her. They push back and forth until Regina reaches forward and grabs Emma's shirt, pulling it out much to the audience's delight.

It's a break away dickie that leaves Emma in a black bikini top and her white suit jacket. She spins away and Regina pulls off her break away pants, leaving her in her black heels and black tights. She reaches up and pulls off her fedora, tossing it to Henry in the audience and letting her blonde curls cascade down.

Regina grabs her and spins her around, Emma leaning against her as she flares her legs out to walk around Regina's body. Emma then turns out, their arms connected and they go through the wave with their bodies.

With a grin, she lets go and they both turn to each other, leaning forward to do the signature Michael lean in. It had taken a lot of practice, but they do it, leaning forward until their foreheads touch. Then they roll back up and grab hands, facing away from each other and then using their outside legs to pivot back to facing each other.

Regina then grabs Emma's hands and they do a slide under her legs. Emma stands up and holds onto Regina, wrapping her legs around Regina's waist. They end the dance with a final lift where Regina flips Emma over and she ends up on her floor with Regina's hat in her hand. She puts it on and winks at the cameras.

The audience goes ballistic. It's louder applause than they've ever heard and Emma jumps up, still wearing Regina's hard and laughing.

"Emma and Regina!" Sidney hugs them both and then they turn their attention to the judges.

Jefferson is up out of his seat, clapping for them. "You two have got the perfect partnership. Every move and every intention… sharply in focus. Used to maximum effect. It was Un. Be. Liev. Able. Michael would be proud."

"This night is off the charts!" Astrid exclaims when it's her turn. "These freestyles are on fire and you… As a judge I'm looking at many things and I think about it and I critique it, and I appreciate things, but when I watch you, I watch you just as a dancer. And you are the dancer's dancer. And you are incredible. I just love watching you dance."

"Take and chance and just dance." Gold singsongs. "No group of people, no crazy gimmicks. Just straight into the performance. That's what I love about the two of you. You were able to entertain us without any tricks. It was all you. And it was incredibly well done."

"Emma, earlier we saw you do your foxtrot again and I was thinking about what you said that night in your package, about how you always felt like a lost little girl. And I am here to tell you tonight that yes, you may always be an orphan, but you are not that lost little girl anymore." Lacey tells her with conviction. "You are a strong, fierce, woman who has finally found her place in the world. And tonight, getting to watch you in this freestyle, it was fun and entertaining yes, but it was also raw and real and honest. It was everything that both of you represent together. It was so on point. And that is what a freestyle is."

"Fabulous comments and let's go directly to your scores." Sidney grins.

All the judges at the same time raise their paddles and shout it out. "10!"

Regina picks Emma up and spins her around as Sidney begins to prattle on. "This is your last chance to pick your champions. Tomorrow night our winners will be revealed. So everyone go vote!"

"Oh. Wow." Emma murmurs as they walk into the dance studio to practice their final dance of the season – the 24 hour fusion dance – only to find giant pictures of themselves hung on the wall. Each one showcases a moment from one of their different dances.

She moves over to see them, tears welling in her eyes. They look so beautiful in these pictures, these moments frozen in time.

"Look at us." Emma whispers and she suddenly begins to cry.

"Hey. Hey. What's wrong?" Regina grabs her shoulders, turning her to meet her gaze.

"I just realized that this is it. After this... We're done."

Regina pulls her into an embrace, just holding her for the longest time. When they finally pull back, Regina wipes tears from Emma's cheeks and looks at her with an intensity that Emma doesn't understand.

"After this, the competition will be over." Regina says, finally. "But we won't be done."

"Regina –" Emma begins to protest, but Regina shakes her head.

"We'll worry about that tomorrow. For tonight, let's just do what we do best."

Emma can't resist, she wiggles her eyebrows.

"I meant dancing, Emma." She says as she moves to take Emma into hold.

Emma laughs.