A/N: I decided to post this in three chapters after all, to not make the second one too long, but the final part will still be up today. The story is rated M for the last chapter.

I'm actually not a particular fan of songfics myself, but when I heard Sheppard's 'The Best Is Yet To Come', this plot practically jumped at me, so here you go.

Dance Like Nobody's Watching

Chapter 1

For as long as she could remember, Barbara 'Bobbi' Morse had loved music. Even as a child she had always been listening to one song or another and when she had gotten her first cd player, there had practically never been a moment of silence in her room again, except for when she had been asleep.

The right kind of music helped her concentrate, but most of the time she listened to it to lighten up her mood, to make annoying chores more fun or to pass the time more quickly. Not that she had that much of it on her hands to begin with as an agent of SHIELD. Time issues aside, the one occasion where she simply needed to have music playing, was when she was in the gym, doing her workout routine.

She was there by herself right now, running on the treadmill as the last part of her session, and a random collection of songs from her mp3 player was playing over the stereo at a moderate volume. Bobbi wanted to show at least some consideration for the other agents in the base, although she knew that it could probably still be heard at least in the common area.

After that latest op they had done, she simply needed to unwind, and while she knew that others, her annoying ex-husband in particular, liked to just sit back, a beer in hand, she had always preferred to let off some steam in the gym instead.

For now she was done, however, feeling completely exhausted. She switched off the treadmill just as an especially upbeat pop song came over the speakers, causing her to sway to the tune slightly as she stepped to the floor.

This was another reason why she loved music, because to her, there was nothing better to get her at ease after a long training session, than to relax her aching muscles and get rid of any remaining stress by simply letting herself go, to follow the tune and dance, especially if she was alone at the time.

As Bobbi let the melody flow through her, the first part of her to give in were her hips, before her feet and the rest of her body followed, making her feel more light-hearted and carefree than she had been in ages. She turned up the volume considerably, for the moment not caring if she was disturbing anyone.

She had used to do this a lot in the past, but as she had spent so much time over the last few years undercover, there hadn't really been many opportunities for it, as she had always needed to keep her guard up at any moment. Especially her Hydra supervisors would certainly have been pretty surprised to see her spinning around the base's training room to some 80's pop song while she was at the same time pretending to be evil incarnate.

This thought actually made her mind drift once more to her lazy ex-husband and his penchant for telling awful stories about her. The one thing she specifically remembered about him right now, however, was the way he had always loved to watch her dance. Particularly that look on his face he had had while seeing her move, like she had been some sort of miracle that had dropped into his life out of nowhere.

Hunter had once accused her of being able to make her targets, himself apparently included, feel special without really meaning it, but while that was certainly true as far as it concerned her undercover work, he had obviously been completely clueless about the effect his own gaze could have on her.

The way he had often leant in the doorway after her workout back in their old apartment, watching her movements with fascination, had always sent a pleasant shiver down her spine as his desire for her had been burning in his eyes so clearly.

When he had eventually moved forward, it hadn't been to dance with her – even though she knew he had some moves himself – but with the single goal to claim her on the spot, to pull her swaying and twisting body against his, and to give in to the passion that had always been one of the strongest aspects of their relationship.

However, just as Bobbi tried to remind herself that it had also been one of the reasons for its failure, a new song started playing over the speakers. It was a duet that began very softly, but quickly picked up a melody she couldn't escape and that pulled her along, while the lyrics hit a lot closer to home than the agent would have liked.

Take me to a different place where love is not illusion based

and fear is just a word they can't define

Where I've heard hope and happiness are found in every beating chest

'cause all those hearts are more or less inclined

To give it all away without a fear of what's to break

the answer that we never seem to find

The hand we always take disintegrates without a trace

and we're the ones they've always left behind

Bobbi knew that love had never been their problem. Despite all their differences and their fighting, she had always known that Hunter had loved her, even as he had walked out on her. Or rather, as they had walked out on each other.

Although she had once accused him of always keeping his options open, she had to admit that he had been the one, who had been more clearly invested in the relationship. That he had been more willing to open up to her than she had been in return, and that she had constantly been keeping a lot more from him than just SHIELD's secrets.

Maybe she really had been afraid to give it all away, to completely trust someone, even her own husband, but if the reason for that had been the fear that he could have left her, then she had achieved just that in the end by constantly setting him on edge. Bobbi knew that Hunter had been trying to reach out to her, and while he had done that in his usual less than subtle way by nagging her constantly and invading her privacy, she sometimes thought that there must have been a better solution to their situation than to push him away like she had done.

Help me understand the best is yet to come

take me by the hand before I come undone

cause all this emptiness has left me feeling numb

but it's darkest right before the sun

It was a nice thought, to assume that something better was still ahead of her than all the struggle she had gone through in the past. Hunter had reached out to her so many times, but she had pushed him away again and again. Yet, right now a part of her actually wished that he would do it once more, that he wouldn't be deterred by her cold and abrasive side she always seemed to reserve just for him, and fill that void within her that she knew was there, even though she always did an excellent job not to show it.

Bobbi was still dancing to the beat of the song, her eyes closed, but now she slightly shook her head at herself and her ridiculous thoughts. There was a reason she and Hunter were apart – several really – and to hope for something else was just going to get her into trouble.

Just as she had firmly made up her mind about that, however, she did a small spin, her eyes opening slightly, and froze on the spot as she realised to her complete shock that she wasn't alone. There was someone standing in the door frame, watching her, and even though it was an incredibly familiar scene, Bobbi suddenly felt horribly exposed, half afraid that he was somehow able to read her thoughts of the last few minutes on her face.

As she called out to the man, her voice was sharp, angry, and she only barely noticed as he flinched, obviously caught off guard just as much as she had been.

"Hunter, what the hell?"

To be continued…