Sam struggled as Jackie held her and kissed her forehead. Because she wasn't - couldn't be - helpless! Weak. She couldn't be weak, couldn't ket herself be weak. But, somehow, her heart wasn't in it. Because Jackie's arms around her felt... nice. Right. And so, after a little half-hearted squirming that left her feeling all warm and tingly, she sighed and leaned into the Indian. "Y'all win," she groused, smiling as she did. "Yer right. Ah gotta heal up, first. Ah'll behave."
Then she leaned a little harder, blushing at her daring even as she enjoyed the feel of the other woman's bidy against hers. "Fer now, anyway..."
And she tried. She really did. But inactivity ate at her, leaving her fidgety. To ease the boredom she started studying the tribe's language, and asking questiins about the herbs and medicines that were used on her. And, she realized quickly, Jackie's mother had the patience of a saint. She answered all her questions with pleasure, and cirrected her pronunciation, and even sang wild, wailing songs that thrilled the bounty hunter even though she didn't understand a word.
After a few weeks, she was permitted to do small chores. Helping with the cooking, and the mending of tooks and gear, and even oreparation of medicines and paints. It would have galled her before, but a combination of boredome and a growing affection for the older woman and her people made it seem... fulfilling. "Ah never reckoned Ah'd wanna be all domestic like," she laughed.
Nights were the hardest. That was when thoughts of Jackie would creep in, leaving her wondering how the Indian would look naked. How she might taste, if she kissed her. How her hands felt, rubbing her down. How she sounded, with her lovers. Thzt last usually led Sam to touch herself, to bring herself to orgasm as she listened to the Indian lying with another woman. Then, flushed and breathing hard, she'd wonder exactly how that would work.
Sometimes the guilt of her upbringing would trouble her over that. But that guilt seemed a distant thing, a part of the white man's world. A world she wasn't sure she wanted any part of, any more.
Nearly a month after the ambush, Sam was proclaimed well enough. She wasn't ready yet for riding or fighting or the like, but she could walk around. With the help of a stick, to keep the weight off her healing leg. Believing (correctly) that her own clothes would simply encourage her to embrace her old habits too quickly, Jackie's mother loaned her an skirt and cotton shirt. The skirt would have been ankle length on the older woman, but hung to mid-calf on Sam's rangy frame. And the shirt, also cut for a smaller woman, gave her the option of covering either her breasts or her belly, but not both.
After some thought, she buttoned it over her chest. Might as well have a little modesty.
"Look at me!" she laughed, leaning on her stick. "Ah ain't worn a dress in... six years. Never really expected to." Jackie's mother handed her something in a small sack. "Ah couldn't," she said, trying to hand it back. "Y'all have done.."
"No, no, this is for us."
"Ah... don't follow you," Sam said, puzzled. "What.."
"Soap," the older woman said, laughing. "Go to the creek and wash yourself, please. For our sakes, if not your own."