Love on the Brain

Levi emails the team on Monday, stating that he will be taking some personal time, and asking them to get started on new designs, crediting Bee with having come up with the fantastic solution. Bee is pleased to be rightfully acknowledged but cannot help worrying about how Levi has not texted her personally since their kiss. Rocío interrupts Bee’s reverie by declaring that she loves Kaylee and has broken up with her boyfriend back home. Rocío and Kaylee are joining the #FairGraduateAdmissions movement, especially in light of a recent article that has been published by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Penned by the vice president of the company that sells the GRE, the article defends the test and questions the motivations of @WhatWouldMarieDo and @Schmacademics in criticizing the GRE.

Bee calls Reike to tell her about the kiss later that night. Levi arrives at her place shortly after to return the backpack she left in his car, and Bee invites him in. Levi explains that the emergency was regarding Penny, Lily’s daughter; she has epilepsy, and though it is under control with medication, the dosage needs readjusting sometimes. Levi tries to be around for Lily when things get tough: Penny’s father, Peter Sullivan, was one of Levi’s closest childhood friends, and he passed away in a rock-climbing accident a year ago. Bee makes the connection between the Sullivan name and the helmet prototype, as well as the name on the Discovery Institute Building. Levi confesses that it is his strong desire to see Peter’s work complete that compelled him to transfer to BLINK and see the project through; Bee promises him that they will complete the helmets together. They kiss again and go on to have sex together for the first time.

Bee and Levi present their solution together the next morning, and it is received with admiration and excitement by the rest of the team. They will have a model ready by the following week, and Guy is excited to be the first test subject. Boris congratulates Bee and Levi on having figured out a way forward and informs them that he will be setting up a demo for the end of the following week, to be attended by the higher-ups at both NIH and NASA. Bee is a little worried about the short deadline because when human subjects are involved, things can go wrong in multiple ways; however, Boris reminds her of the stakes involved, including MagTech’s work, as well as the need to reiterate the importance of retaining the NIH-NASA collaboration. Boris also offers Bee a place at NASA following the completion of BLINK as the lead of the neuro unit.

Levi asks Bee out on a date that night, and Bee agrees. She thinks of their situation as a friends-with-benefits arrangement that will allow Levi to work out the remainder of his attraction to Bee while she gets to indulge in good sex for a while. Schmac finally replies to Bee, apologizing for being offline over a busy weekend, but with a happy update: he is finally taking The Girl out to dinner, and Bee is thrilled for him.

Levi takes Bee to a vegan restaurant, where they discuss the various times he appeared to have snubbed Bee in the past. Levi explains that his insistence of the dress code on Bee’s first day at NASA because earlier that day Boris had made a comment about NASA doing whatever they could to get NIH off the project, including dismissing Bee just for her hair.

Bee goes back to Levi’s place after dinner. Even as she pets Schrödinger, she explains to Levi that although she loves cats, she doesn’t have one herself because she wouldn’t be able to bear its eventual, inevitable death. Levi and Bee discuss Bee’s conviction that all relationships will end someday in one way or another; while Bee is terrified of this prospect, Levi suggests that what happens in between the beginning and the end makes the latter worthwhile. They go on to have intense, explosive sex once again.

Bee enjoys her relationship with Levi, particularly the sex, crediting it with helping her flourish at work, where she is feeling exceptionally productive and efficient. BLINK is doing well, despite the tight deadline for the demo, with every test yielding excellent results. Bee spends every evening with Levi, and he asks her to move in because it will just be easier. She initially demurs, not wanting people to notice as women in STEM get treated unfairly for workplace relationships. However, Levi assures her that their situation will remain private, and Bee moves in.

On Saturday morning, over breakfast, Bee and Levi discuss their relationship. Bee thinks it is casual, but Levi is determined to convince her, over time, that he is in for the long haul. Levi receives a phone call from Lily, inviting both him and Bee to hang out with her, and Bee accepts delightedly. Bee finds Lily warm and welcoming and instantly falls in love with her precocious and charming six-year-old Penny. While Levi and Penny go out into the backyard together, Lily and Bee chat. She apologizes to Bee for what could potentially be seen as a weird situation with her calling Levi for help all the time. Lily reveals that she and Levi dated briefly, for a few weeks before Levi started his final year at grad school. Although they had agreed to try long distance, Levi ended the relationship after returning to grad school, stating that he had met someone else. Peter asked Lily out shortly after, and they ended up marrying just two months later.

Penny comes back to chat with Bee, asking her all sorts of questions including about Bee’s name, piercings, family, and favorite animal. Penny reveals that her favorite animal is a spider and brings out her stuffed tarantula plush toy, the sight of which makes Bee faint. Levi helps her when she comes to, reassuring Penny and Lily that this is normal, and that Bee is fine; a delighted Penny brings out the tarantula to make Bee faint again, which she does. Bee and Levi spend the day with Lily and Penny, and despite the tarantula incident, Bee comes to adore Penny. Before they leave, Lily mentions that Levi’s family will be in town soon, and Bee asks Levi if she can accompany him to dinner with them; he reluctantly accepts, warning her that the dinner will be a horrible experience.

Before the big demo, extensive work is carried out on the helmet. Bee notes that Guy is moody and anxious, attributing it to the nervousness of having to be on display. When she goes to check on him in his office on one occasion, she startles him into quickly closing all his computer tabs, believing he had been de-stressing by watching pornography. Meanwhile, Rocío and Kaylee continue to grow closer; they tell Bee that they are planning to co-create a website for #FairGraduateAdmissions and hope to interview @WhatWouldMarieDo for the same. Things between Levi and Bee, too, are going extremely well, and Bee seems to be really falling for Levi, who is consistently caring and kind towards her.

Bee finally goes to dinner with Levi’s family and knows it will go badly when his family makes a reservation at a steakhouse. The dinner group includes Levi’s parents, as well as his oldest brother, Isaac. Throughout dinner, Bee tries to enthusiastically talk up Levi and their work but is constantly interrupted or ignored by his family. They bring up the subject of Levi joining an arm of the military once again, and Bee interjects to defend Levi’s current job and reputation. Levi’s father is thoroughly displeased by her rudeness, but a pleased Levi stops his father from insulting Bee.

On the way home after dinner, Bee talks about how horribly Levi’s family treats him. She marvels at how well-adjusted he has turned out despite their treatment, and Levi credits it to years of therapy. Bee confesses to Levi that she really likes him, and he responds that he definitely likes her more. Back at Levi’s place, Bee and Levi perform oral sex on each other.