Disclaimer: Stargate SG1 and the Carter family have nothing to do with me other than being pretty pictures on a tv set. Oh yes, and please forgive Jacob for a potential backslide in this chapter - he's only human at this point (literally - yes, bad pun, I know..).

Thanks for all reviews!! You're lovely.. maybe I should start thinking up something to write next. Considering I work on an industrial estate with nowhere to go at lunchtime, this is proving to be a lot more fun than listening to the trucks go by! :)

Btw I saw Starship Troopers again this weekend, now wasn't that a classic bit of stilton?? Spot your fave Tok'ra right there, producing some of the world's cheesiest lines with a straight face. "They sucked his brains out." Hehehehehehehehe...

Finally the teacher had hit a cord. Defending his little girl was one thing, but the suggestion that she might want to work in a lab someday – a lab full of men – had taken him unawares. It was even worse than O'Leary's comment that Sammie might make a good accountant! What father – what future husband? – could possibly think that this was a good idea? His mind was reeling, and he suddenly wished even more desperately that Kathryn was here beside him. To borrow a phrase he'd heard at the base: this did not compute. Studying was one thing, working was still another.

'But he wouldn't have mentioned the possibility unless he thought she was good enough! Remember that gleam in O'Leary's eye too,' whispered a little voice in his head, slicing through the old-fashioned self-righteousness of his gut reaction.

Clinging to this one bright thought, Jacob tried one last shot at the Physics teacher.

"So she's good then? Good enough to actually be a career scientist someday?"

Dr Cuthbertson clasped his hands together on the desk. "Major Carter, I have only known your daughter for one semester and am unable to predict the future. She does have a great deal of ability, in fact she has achieved almost straight A's, but she is also is very cautious. Sometimes I do not know whether she is questioning points because she really does not understand them, or because she is worried about her classmates. The boys see Physics as a male preserve you see, as I'm sure that you do, and they also see a girl who is alone on their territory. I do not wish to paint that picture any further, but let me say that even the so-called 'nerd' of the class now has a victim to bully. Normally I try to guide and encourage my straight-A students, but I am unsure how realistic this would be for Samantha, given her situation."

Jacob suddenly received a flash of insight. This man had once been the nerd of the class, but had found a way to turn his skill into a basis for authority rather than victimisation. He might even have served in Vietnam and lost a few men, which might have added to this sudden protective attitude. Dr Cuthbertson's take on what was best for his students was what was driving this conversation, and Jacob was torn between joining him and standing up for his tomboy daughter.

To his credit, Dr Cuthbertson had fallen silent for a moment, ignoring the other parents' agitated noises as the waited for their turn. When he saw that Jacob had nothing to say just yet, he continued.

"Ability aside, I am aware that my advice may not be welcome. We have yet to see whether Samantha has the makings of a true scientist, and even if she does this would be a long and difficult path for a woman even today. I can pinpoint her as the source of disruption in my class not only because she learns by questioning while the boys seem happy to simply absorb, but because her femininity disturbs the boys – who, I shouldn't have to remind you, are entering puberty. Imagine how pronounced this might become if she took a path through academia!"

Jacob remained silent, uncertain of how to respond. Dr Cuthbertson was talking about a 13-year-old girl, but he obviously wanted to explain the bare facts, as he saw them, to a doting father. Maybe he needed them, even if they were taking this question of her current studies to its furthest possibilities, and the unspoken fact was that Jacob had no wife who could advise him on the details of a woman's 'world' or serve as a role model for Sammie.

"Carry on Doctor, what else?"

A sigh, a nervous tap of fingers against desk, while the parent-teacher evening continued around them. "As hard as she may try, even if Samantha has the makings of a top class scientist she may be faced with an bleak future. She could dedicate her life to science, but receive little or no thanks from her overwhelmingly male colleagues. An all-girls high school might provide a better learning environment for now – if there are any nearby that teach Physics – but this would not change the potential difficulties at college and beyond. Research assistantships are relatively rare as well as poorly paid – making doctoral studies very expensive – and it can take years for any scientist to gain funding for their own research."

Dr Cuthbertson paused for a moment to shake his head. His tone was still that of a firm schoolmaster, but he hoped that this parent recognised his implied compassion for what it was. Samantha was an able student, but as a teacher he honestly saw no point in raising the girl's hopes and subjecting her to years of male antipathy.. and he saw no hypocrisy in his self-fulfilling prophecy.

"Rosalind Franklin fought through all of this 20 years ago, and while she may well have made some of the breakthroughs that made it possible to identify DNA, she still missed out on the Nobel Prize. Very little has changed since then, even in the United States. I know of no government-funded studies being conducted by a woman at this moment in time – though I admit there may be a few in the private sector. It could be a fruitless, frustrating venture for a talented young woman to hit a brick wall time and time again, for no other other reason than her sex."

Jacob held his face as one would a mask. He needed time to think, because this wasn't just a question of Sammie taking Physics and Advanced Math any more. Dr Cuthbertson's words had set off a string of alarms in his brain, and while the man carried on and on about the dangers of 'a life in physics', Jacob was still stuck in the rut of 'a life doing anything other than getting married and raising children.'

The phantom grandchildren had run away long ago, and the distressed father realised that he had never really asked Sammie what she wanted from life, supposing that she even knew – he had simply assumed. Maybe it would be hard for her to find a husband who would be supportive her career, if she chose to have one, but what right did he have to limit any of her choices at such an early age? She had already chosen to drop Home Crafts and Cooking already so maybe she wasn't planning on following the normal pattern of womanhood. It could be teenage pigheadedness, but it might also be a life decision.

Rather than continuing the debate and holding up yet more parents eager to go home as soon as possible, he stood silently, offered his hand to Dr Cuthbertson and looked at the appointment card. Mr Shepparton, Mark's Math teacher.

"Thank you for your time, sir," he said automatically. "It's good to know that Sammie is doing well enough in any case. I'll be thinking on your words."