We prove a number of results about the ordinary and Brauer characters of finite solvable groups in characteristic 2, by defining and using the concept of the extended nucleus of a real irreducible character. In particular we show that the Isaacs canonical lift of a real irreducible Brauer character has Frobenius–Schur indicator +1. We also show that the principal indecomposable module corresponding to a real irreducible Brauer character affords a quadratic geometry if and only if each extended nucleus is a split extension of a nucleus.