Hey everyone, the idea for this story has been spooking around in my head for some time now. I set it at the beginning of season 4 or maybe even some weeks before that. I got the idea for the title from the song "Keepsake" by The Gaslight Anthem. The guidelines don't allow me to post some lyrics of the song but if you want you can listen to it on youtube...I think the lyrics of the chorus fit Raylan well in my story.

English is not my native language but I really hope it doesn't show too much and you'll like the story anyway.
I would love to read some reviews or feedback from you guys because it's really important for a writer's motivation (but I guess you know that ;-))

Disclaimer: I do not own Justified or any of it's characters. I also do not gain any profit for this story, it's for mere entertainment.

Raylan had his eyes closed and enjoyed the smell of the fresh cup of coffee in his hands. He took another sip and wondered why it was still that quiet in the office. It was almost 9am and usually there'd be chatter, typing on keyboards and ringing telephones filling the air. Raylan looked up again and placed his feet on the desk in front of him.
Suddenly the door flew open and Rachel rushed into the room.

"Damn, I'm late, did I miss anything?" she asked as she quickly dumped her handbag on her desk.

"Not really..." answered Raylan. "Was there an accident somewhere or something like that?" The question seemed to confuse Rachel.

"Why? No, not that I know of...I simply overslept."

"Then where is everyone?" Only now she seemed to realize that they were almost alone in the office.

"That is odd...I'll check for news online.." She sat down behind her computer but right in that moment the door opened again and Art entered. Raylan realized that his boss looked tired and a bit exhausted.

"What's up, Art?" he asked. "Where is everyone?" added Rachel. Art came to a halt between their desks and took a good look around.

"Morning. Haven't you heard?" he furrowed his brow. "It's this damn flu...Leslie caught it on the weekend. One of the vicious ones, starts out as a common cold but lateron there's fever, nausea..."

"I think we're getting the picture, Art." interrupted Raylan who didn't really need such stories in the morning along with his coffee. "How is she?" asked Rachel looking a bit concerned. Art let out a sigh.

"Couldn't tell...doctor says it might take around two weeks for a woman her age 'till the sympthoms wear off. We were up most of the night but when I left she was finally asleep." He took off his jacket and wiped his shiny forehead with a sleeve. "I guess we could blame that flu for our empty office..." he turned to walk towards his own small office. "I really hope there's nothing big coming in today..." he added.

Raylan observed that his boss was on the phone all the time since he'd come in and he didn't look happy. Half an hour later he called him and Rachel into his office.

"Bad news...I got about six calls with employes calling in sick. Tim's one of them. And even worse: We have a case to work." Art reached out for his notepad and pushed his glasses a bit up his nose. "It's a runner. Classic case, though. A 35 year old female from Tennessee, Susan Bell. She spent some time in jail for robbery, vandalism and blackmailing. She's out for 10 days now and violated her constraints by crossing the state-border to Kentucky."

"Why'd she do that?" asked Raylan who couldn't really understand why someone should risk going back to prison merely for travelling such a short distance where it was most likely to get caught again.

"Well, that's a question you'll have to ask her but a reason could be that her husband lives here in Lexington. A Christian Bell." said Art slowly while trying to surpress a yawn. He didn't quite make it and ended up with his face puckered and looking like a sleepy owl.

"So we'll just pay him a visit and wait for her to show up, right?" detected Rachel. "Wait..." interrupted Raylan. Something seemed very odd about that case. "If the husband is her only connection here in Kentucky, then she must know that we'll be waiting there..." he said slowly.

"Yeah, but we can't be sure that she knows the Marshalls are looking for her." muttered Art and Rachel added:

"And some criminals don't even think about these things...they act out of pure instinct or emotion...such as love."

"Thanks for those wise words of advice, Freud!" remarked Raylan grinning. He wasn't used to Rachel being that cynical but he knew that the seperation from her husband was still preying on her mind.