I own nothing but my OC ! Just saying that once more ! Hope you all enjoy, even though it is sad :( I've been listening to this song since I was a little kid, and it just felt right to me to make this with Daryl's character. Hope I write it well !

~Kaila G.

"He was up in Wyoming,

And drew a bull no man could ride.

He promised her he'd turn out.

Well, it turned out that he lied.

And their dreams that they'd been livin',

In the California sand.

Died right there beside him in Cheyenne."

Daryl stood, watching, waiting. They were assigning riders to bulls, and he could already feel his adrenaline pumping. He listened as the announcer would call a name, then the bull that person would ride. There were groans and grimaces from the crowd. Some men grinned or chuckled. Daryl just stood smirking, waiting on his name to be called. He didn't have to wait long.

"Daryl Dixon will be ridin', uh, 'No Man's Land'." There silence among the crowd of men as they all turned to look at Daryl. He was silent, and nodded his head before walking out. He walked out toward the gates, ready to go back to his house before hitting a bar. Someone caught his eye and he grinned.

"Who'd you get?" Glenn, who was Daryl's favorite rodeo clown, walked up smiling.

"Ya really wanna know?" Daryl smirked.

"Oh, no. Don't even say it." Glenn frowned.

"Yea, 'No Man's Land' it is." Daryl looked pleased.

"You better wipe that look off your face, he ain't nothing to mess with! Oh, man. Katie-Evelyn's gonna be pissed." Glenn shook his head.

"God, I know. Imma get cussed out from here to damn China." Daryl shook his head. "She'll get over it. The money'll be worth it."

"I dunno man. That's one hell of a bull."

"And I can't wait to give 'em a whirl." Daryl slapped Glenn on the back, and began walking toward his motorcycle.

"Be careful, Daryl." Glenn called out.

Daryl grunted, and climbed on his motorcycle. He cranked it up, and took off for the main road. 'No Man's Land'. Boy, he really did it this time. Glenn was right. Katie-Evelyn was going to be mad as hell. He was bracing himself for the worst, as he pulled up to his house.

Best thing about a small town is that everything is close together. Hell, if he wanted to waste twenty-five minutes, he could walk from his house to the rodeo. But Daryl Dixon did not waste time, no, he got where he needed to be ahead of time, ready to do what had to be done. And right now, he had to go inside to his wife and tell her the news.

Daryl and Katie-Evelyn had been married for five years. They got married when Katie-Evelyn turned eighteen. Now he had just turned twenty-four, and she was twenty-three. But of course, with all small town kids, there was a history with the two that went far beyond those five years. Daryl began to think back at their history.

Daryl had met Katie-Eveyln in kindergarten. The small, adorable blonde with big, blue eyes had loved him from the start. Despite how all boys were at that age, Daryl never picked on her with mean intentions. She always sat with him at the back of the bus, and even shared her lunch with him everyday.

Katie-Evelyn knew something was wrong. Daryl wasn't like most kids. He always came to school with bruises or cuts. They would sit at the back of the bus and laugh all the way until the bus stopped at his stop. Then he would get quiet, and frown slightly, before saying goodbye. He would walk away, and climb down the bus stairs, looking back to wave at her, before trudging towards his house.

Before they knew it, they were in high school. Katie-Evelyn was a dancer, and a damn good one at that. Daryl would always go to her recitals, and often would meet her in the parking lot with a red rose. She would giggle and kiss him on the lips quickly, before her parents came outside.

"Daryl Dixon!" She'd say. "You're gonna be the death of me one day! My Daddy's gonna come out here, see me kissin' you, and shoot us both!"

Daryl would just laugh, and sneak one more peck before her parents opened the auditorium doors. Katie-Evelyn would giggle again, and smack his chest gently. He would slink away, and leave her to celebrate, knowing he'd see her again later that night. He would go home and wait until midnight, then he'd sneak out quietly. Jump on his bike, and be at her house in seconds.

She'd always meet him at the end of her driveway. He'd hand her a helmet, and she'd push it over her wild curly hair. Daryl would laugh as she climbed on the bike awkwardly. To be such a graceful dancer, she was a clumsy person. She'd just smack him, and tilt her head back laughing, as they drove off into the night.

Daryl was most fond of the times they had crashed at his house. His father was always gone, off getting drunk somewhere. Daryl guessed his father thought Daryl and his older brother, Merle, could take care of their selves. Merle was always in trouble, and never home. Daryl and Katie-Evelyn would always have the best times together.

Daryl smiled at the thought of her. After she made him watch the movie 'The Devil's Advocate', he always told her she had "Mare curls", which made her grin. Except her blonde hair was much, much longer.

He sighed, thinking of his gorgeous wife. Now he was about to get in trouble. She was going to dog cuss him all over the house when he told her. He walked up to the porch, and walked up the steps. He could hear her small feet, as she ran down the hall and flung the front door open. Katie-Evelyn jumped on him, kissing his cheek. He wrinkled his nose at her sweet face, not ready to tell her about the bull he had drawn.

"Uh, oh. I don't like the looks of that face." Katie-Evelyn said, her tone questioning, but her voice sweet.

"Hey babe." Daryl said smoothly, but sweetly as possible.

"I thought you'd never get home. So what'd ya get? Imma drive over tonight and watch you ride, I guess." She said nervously.

"I got 'No Man's Land'." Daryl said surely. She backed away from him.

"What? No fuckin' way! Daryl Dixon-"

"Imma turn out fine!" Daryl promised. And the war began.

Daryl sat on the bull. It was going crazy all caged in, but he held on calmly. Despite being a little upset from the fight with Katie-Evelyn, he was ready to ride. Although slightly disappointed that she really didn't show up, he was ready to get his anger out. No man could ride this bull. But he could. And he knew it.

"You ready?" Glenn was outside of the fence, watching nervously.

"Ready." Daryl said calmly. Glenn flashed the other two men a thumbs up. The buzzer went off, and the gates opened. Daryl felt every muscle in his body tense up, as he held on tightly. The bull was bucking and twirling. Daryl felt himself slipping, and he relaxed slightly, holding on even tighter with his legs.

It felt like forever before the buzzer went off again. He knew he had done it, and he wanted to yell. Eight seconds on a bull no man could ride. The last thing he saw was Katie-Evelyn's face in his mind, when he flew into the air. He saw the ground coming, and braced for the impact. He grimaced as his face hit the ground.

Dirt flew into his face, up his nose, in his mouth. In a daze, he struggled to pick himself up. Before he even got to his feet, a searing, sharp pain hit him in the back. He felt like his insides exploded. Everything was black when he hit the ground a second time.

Katie-Evelyn was sitting in their bedroom, cursing that man. She couldn't believe that he agreed to ride the worst known bull in bull riding history. She felt bad for the fact that she didn't go to watch him ride. She had been watching him ride since she was sixteen years old.

That was their thing. He'd go to her ballet recitals, and she'd go to watch him ride. After every ride, she'd meet him at the gate, tell him "You're crazy, Daryl Dixon, but I love you. Better be glad you look so damn sexy on that bull.", then she'd throw her arms around him and kiss him.

But it got old, the riding. She realized the danger as she got older. She watched too many men fall, and not get back up. One of her friends had a boyfriend who got paralyzed from the neck down, and that was her final straw. She begged Daryl to quit, but he was firm in his decision. He wanted to ride.

Suddenly the phone rang, disturbing her thoughts. She sighed, and half smiled, ready to hear his sweet voice all hyped up to tell her that he was right. That she was crazy for thinking he'd get hurt. This would be their making up for the fight they had earlier.

"Hello?" She put on her sweetest voice.

"Katie-Evelyn, it's Rick Grimes." The local sheriff's voice made her heart drop.

"Rick, don't play that shit with me. What hospital is he in?" Katie-Evelyn asked.

"Kate... I'm sorry, but he's gone." Rick said those words, and the phone fell out of her hand, onto the bed.