[That does it.

Let's just say she's in for a good hard talk about what it means to be dependable, and she's in for a lesson that she might not forget anytime soon.]

There's no such thing as 'a lot worse' when it comes to suffering. It's just not something you quantify, not something you give a value to and write off as less terrible than what others go through.

[It didn't matter to her in the least -- whether her ragtag misfits have endured having family charge off into their own deadly profession, being betrayed, being used as an experiment, having to hunt down their own children because of genetic defects, or having family that basically lost their shit and turned the entire female crew into mindless slaves, she didn't think of it as anywhere worse than her own experience--it was still suffering to Shepard, and it was still something she was glad to have had the chance to rectify, no matter the means necessary.]

Besides, trying to be strong for everyone's sake and tackling things on your own is only going to make them worry even harder once they take notice.

[...There was a pang of feeling like a hypocrite in the back of her mind once she said that, but she just couldn't place her finger on why...]