CARA VALENTINE WAS ANGRY. That much was for certain. Cara Valentine was angry, and that was okay. It beat the inescapable fear that encompassed her every time she closed her eyes. It beat the night terrors and what she had lived in for two years. That didn't mean she liked it, though. In fact, she hated it; she hated being mad at herself, but she couldn't help it.
She was angry at herself for allowing what happened to her to affect how she interacted with the team. She was angry at herself for the night terrors. She was angry at herself for hurting hospital personnel, even though she couldn't prevent it or recall the incidents. She was angry at herself for harming herself. She was angry at herself for constantly having to remind herself that she was safe and needed Hotch present to believe anything anyone told her. She was angry at herself for latching onto Hotch in the first place because she'd inadvertently placed the responsibility for her well-being and sanity in his hands. She was angry at herself for being so timid and on edge around the team that she once considered the closest thing she had to a family of sorts. She never acknowledged that, though.
She was angry at herself for ever walking into her apartment that night. She was angry at herself for choosing to walk straight into the arms of the Founding Fathers in the name of love. It was stupid, but she wouldn't take it back. She was just angry that she ever had to choose in the first place.
