"You're stuck with us," Jack shrugged. "If anyone in this family's going to be a self-destructive, adrenaline junkie binge drinker, it's gonna be me. You're better than me. You've got a future and you're going to do a lot of people a lot of good while you're here so let's keep your ass in the game as long as we can." Another shrug, "Gives me a future too and I'm a selfish bitch."

It gave her a purpose. Being around for them - all of them. Making sure nothing took them out early. Shepard had been more than fucking enough. She wasn't sure she could take losing another of them but being the vanguard for any of 'em, making sure she was around to watch their back? That was a thing she could do. Maybe the only thing she'd ever really been good at. She was pretty sure if the Cerberus shitheads, if any of those program people from Teltin could see what she was doing with her life, they'd consider it a failure.

But.. She didn't. Not anymore. That wasn't nothin'.