"No, Cas. We've already talked about this." Dean turned away from the angel, walking across the kitchen.

"Dean, you know how much she has to deal with already. Sending her to public school would only make things worse." Castiel remained standing by the door as Dean paced.

"I'm not confining her to the house more than she already is."

"I know it sounds bad, but it's how angels have always been raised."

"Screw that, Cas." Dean stopped and locked eyes with Castiel. "She is just starting to feel confident with what she is, who she is. What are we supposed to tell her? That she can't go out in the world and make friends because she's an angel? That if she had been born differently, she could do whatever she wants?"

"Dean," Castiel halted Dean's rant, "I understand your feelings, but she would also understand that this isn't a punishment or a limitation. Home schooling is…"

"No." Dean cut him off. "I realize that you may not get it, but how about we let Claire choose. Can we both live with that?" Castiel nodded in acceptance.

Claire decided to go to public school. Although Castiel was worried, he accepted his daughter's decision. She started kindergarten a few months later.

Just as they had expected, the only problems they had to deal with the first couple years were from disgruntled parents. Dean still didn't understand the anger, but eventually the parents accepted that Claire wasn't leaving. The kids were too young to care that Claire was different from everyone else at that age.

When she was in second grade, some of her classmates started picking on her. Luckily, she was her father's daughter, both of them really, and didn't put up with any crap. She didn't even need to use her angelic powers to keep the bullies at bay.

The kids weren't all bad, though. She did find one friend that seemed glued to her side, Jesse. The boy was somewhat of a loner, but he seemed fascinated by Claire and her abilities. He wasn't afraid of her like everyone else. They spent every free moment together at school and outside of it.

Claire's eighth birthday loomed over Dean like a dark cloud. For one, he just didn't want to hand off his daughter to some stranger, and he still had a problem with the lack of consent or control the kids had. Castiel had made it clear that Claire had to participate, something they fought about a few times. All Dean had managed with his heated arguments was to convince Castiel to at least make it clear that Claire could refuse the human paired with her.

All of the family was in the stands as Castiel and Dean waited with Claire behind the stage as they set up for the bonding ceremony. Castiel stood calmly, while Dean fumed silently. Dean had tried one last time to convince Castiel to not make Claire do this while she was at school, but the fight had been futile and just led to some pretty destructive angry sex.

Claire was shaking slightly as she peaked out to look at the line of humans being placed in front of the stage. She briefly caught sight of Jesse in the crowd by her family before she felt someone behind her. She jumped when Dean put a hand on her shoulder. He was crouched behind her and she turned to face him.

"Claire, don't forget, you have choices. You don't have to take the person paired with you. You'll be able to tell. If they're bad, don't take them, please. Even if it's just a bad feeling, say no. You always have options and choices, okay?"

Claire nodded as Dean took her face in hand and kissed her forehead. She looked to Castiel for approval of that option, getting a small smile and nod. She wanted to open her wings to wrap around her and feel safe, but even Dean had told her to keep them hidden today.

The angels were led to the stage, parents staying behind by the back curtain. Chuck led the ceremony again, like always, and the first few pairings were named off. Dean grew more nervous with every name called. Castiel shifted slightly to let his shoulder touch Dean's, sending him some comfort.

"Claire Novak." All of them snapped to attention. "Human: Gordan Walker."

Applause sounded as the boy made his way up the stage. None of them had seen him before, but if his face was anything to go by, he was not happy to be there. He walked around to stand beside Claire, a glare set in his eyes.

Claire scanned the audience and caught sight of Uncle Sam and Gabe with Nathan and Ava. Jesse was sitting beside Ava and they looked worried, whispering something to each other while shaking their heads. Claire caught Jesse's eyes and the boy bit his lip in worry. She didn't like this. She looked to her side to figure out who Gordan was.

His thoughts and feelings hit her like a slap. He didn't want to be there, he hated this, he hated angels, and he didn't want anything to do with this angel next to him. She felt fear stab her as he turned to face her. The glare in his eyes and the curl of his lip was dangerous and so angry for an eight year old. The pure hatred pulsing off him made Claire feel sick.

She threw a scared look to her parents as Chuck told the mates to face each other. Gordan was holding out a ring and Claire had to think fast to remember what she was supposed to do. Her hand covered his as he said his vows. All Claire heard was the anger in his thoughts. She didn't like this boy at all.

She wanted to pull her hand away, to push him off the stage. There was no way she wanted to be mated with this human, but could she really refuse? Castiel had seemed annoyed at Dean's insistence of her having the choice to refuse, and she didn't want to disappoint either of them or do something wrong.

"Angels, if you accept your mates, take their offerings." Claire looked into Gordan's eyes, wanting to find something there, something good to give her hope. She saw a sister that he loved, but beyond that she saw nothing good. Claire knew her decision.

She pulled her hand out of Gordan's grip and stepped back. Shaking her head, she said, "No." Gordan looked surprised. He kept his hand out, not knowing what to do.

"Claire?" Chuck was waiting for her. All the other angels had taken the tokens.

"I refuse." She whispered it.

"What?" Chuck stepped away from the mic.

Dean and Castiel knew something was wrong. Claire was shaking and backing away from Gordan. Dean wanted to go to her, but Castiel grabbed his wrist.

Claire cleared her throat and spoke loud enough for the mic to pick her up. "I refuse. I will not take Gordan Walker as my mate."

The crowd gasped and started murmuring. This had never happened. Gordan lowered his hand, still confused.

"You refuse?" Chuck was lost. No angel ever refused. "Claire, you know what will happen if you refuse, right?"

She tore her eyes away from Gordan and faced Chuck. "Nothing will happen." She raised her voice more, for all to hear. "Don't believe their lies. We all have a choice. If you want to do this, fine, but if you don't, don't. You won't die if you're never bonded, and I choose to decide for myself." For further emphasis of her defiance, she opened her wings high and wide, making Gordan step back to avoid being hit.

The crowd was in an uproar now, some cheering, some angry, but Claire didn't care. She found Jesse in the crowd and smiled at his approving nod. She flapped her wings and hopped off the stage, black hair flowing behind her as she landed. Dean and Castiel left the stage quickly and followed Claire out of the building.

Her confidant stance and look faded the second she was outside. Her dads caught up to her quickly. Her wings fell in doubt when she saw them. She was beyond surprised when Dean scooped her up and hugged her tightly. "Dad?"

"It's okay." Dean squeezed her before setting her down. "It's okay that kid looked like bad news." Dean didn't really know that for sure, but he was happy that he still had a free daughter.

"He had so much hate for me, for angels." She looked at Castiel, who was worried but not angry like she expected. "I didn't see anything I liked. He was so angry."

Castiel put a hand on her head. "If you think it was right, you made the right choice."

"You're not mad?"

"No." Castiel knelt down and pulled her close for a hug. "I want you to be happy. You did nothing wrong."

Claire's wings perked up and she held Castiel close. The rest of their family then appeared through the doors. "What happened?" Sam's eyes were wide in concern.

Castiel stood and Claire turned to Sam. "He was bad, Sam. He scared me."

"Yeah," Ava stepped around Sam, "Gordan's family is really open about being against angels and the whole angel-human bonding. I'm surprised they were chosen to be a part of this."

"So he really was bad news?" Dean was proud of Claire for getting out when she should have.

Claire was so relieved that no one was upset with her for what she did and they all left to go home. Jesse stayed back to walk with her.

Ironically, Claire became much more accepted and popular in school after her little display. She didn't care much, but it was nice to not be bullied as much. She preferred to stay with the couple of close friends she had made years ago.

It wasn't until Nathaniel and Ava had graduated and moved in together that Dean began to see what was going on with Claire and Jesse. Maybe he was just a little slow when it came to accepting his 13 year old daughter liking someone, but he seemed to be the last to know about it.

They had been friends from kindergarten and Jesse had always been supportive of Claire and been a part of every big moment of her life. It only made sense that they would end up liking each other.

Dean and Castiel were home alone one night while Claire and Jesse were out with friends. They were sitting on the couch and watching a movie. "Cas," Dean nudged the angel, "do you think Claire and Jesse will get married, or bonded, or whatever?"

Castiel shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised. She's never shown any kind of interest in anyone else."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I guess if I had to pick someone, Jesse is about as good as it could get."

"I agree. We'll just have to see what happens." Castiel took Dean's hand and they finished their movie.

Jesse and Claire ended up dating all through high school and college. They wanted to wait until after they finished school to get married. Ava and Nathaniel welcomed a little girl while the other couple was away at school.

Dean had taken over S&W Auto after Bobby and John passed away. When Jesse came back, he picked up a job there while Claire looked for work. They got married a few months after graduating in a small ceremony with their close family.

Ten Years Later

Claire and Jesse stood on stage as their son waited with the other angels to be paired with their mate. Castiel sat beside Dean, their fingers laced together, and watched as their grandson was matched with a young red head. Dean noted Chuck saying that angels had the option of refusing their mates, although only one ever had.

Dean knew this was the last bonding ceremony he would ever see, which made him a little nostalgic about his own sixty years ago. He smiled as he remembered how excited Sam had been and how awkward he and Castiel had been together at first.

He had originally thought that his life had been over when he was forced to bond with and angel, but little did he know, his life had been improved beyond all of his imaginings.