ui-select2 and number values - auto converted into strings

Question

I'm using ui-select2 in my angular project.

My model downloads a complex object called Field which has multiple properties in it(a Field has a title\value and other things).

Now to be specific, my Field has two relevant properties Value and Options.

Options is a key value array object which contains Value and Text. It's specific for a select-box.

The Text property is a string value(display) where the Value property is usually a Number, but can be a string.

Bottom line, my select2 template looks something like this:

<select ui-select2="select2Options" ng-model="model">
    <option ng-repeat="option in options" value="{{option.Value}}">{{option.Text}}</option>
</select>

Pretty trivial..
My problem is that the ng-model converts the selected option's Value into a string(e.g. 2 -> "2") and by doing that, I get problems with the selected value after it returns from the server(since 2 !== "2").

I've debugged deep into the sources and couldn't find a good work around.

I tried using ng-options this way:

<select ui-select2="select2Options" ng-model="model" ng-options="opt.Text for opt in options">
    <option value=""></option>
</select>

But then my model got the key-value object. Now I can think of an ugly work around by adding a dummy ng-model property and adding a watch on the scope which will assign the Value to the "real" model - but I don't want to do that.

Does anyone have any advice for me?