Sick bay. Phlox hyposprays a bumpy-faced humanoid to consciousness. Quantum explains to the newbie that they found his ship adrift. The alien mutters a bit in his alienspeake until Hoshi properly calibrates the Universal Translator. Finally, it's all in English. The alien recognizes that Enterprise is warp capable, and tells the humans that he and three other ships left his planet, Valakis, more than a year ago, in order to find a "a more advanced people" who might be able to cure his species of a condition that has already killed off twelve million on his homeworld and from which he currently suffers. Bumpy Face says they figure those with warp drives have better medical plans, superior to the HMOs on Valakis. T'Pol notes aloud that his species has met other warp-capable people before. "The M'klexa and the Ferengi -- they've both visited our world. Do you know them?" Bumpy Face asks. T'Pol answers in the negative. Hmm, wonder where the Ferengi are hiding during Kirk's servitude. And it's odd that their mercenary natures didn't make Bumpy's species pay through the nose for a cure -- even if it was only a fake cure -- or for warp technology. Bumpy asks the Captain if he'll allow Phlox to help them. Quantum takes T'Pol aside -- but not really out of audio range -- and asks her opinion. T'Pol tells him that since Bumpy and friends have already met several -- and actually came looking for -- warp-capable species, the "risk of contamination seems acceptable." Since his opinion agrees with hers, for once, Quantum orders Phlox to get busy with his healing. Phlox looks less than thrilled. He looks downright worried, in fact, and VOs to Dr. Lucas that he's "been presented with a rather unusual case involving a pair of alien astronauts." Phlox continues, "It may not surprise you that they landed in my sick bay through an act of human compassion." I'm confused -- is there possibly supposed to be an overriding theme in all this?

I'm so sick of trying to figure out what the future name for CAT/MRI scans are, so I'm just going to call them SCATs ("stellar CAT scans") because then we can skeep dee dot diddley de bop doo niddy all the time. Or at least I can do that in my head. Anyway, glad we have that settled. Phlox SCATs Bumpy and VOs that he thought he had it bad when he was dealing with fifty patients at a refugee camp, but now he has to deal with over fifty million.

Mess hall. Phlox and Hoshi dine together, and Phlox attempts to teach Hoshi his language. Subtitles have been thoughtfully provided for the viewing audience. Speaking Denobulan, Hoshi asks how Phlox's patients are doing, and the good doctor tells her, "Their condition is grave, but they are resting now." They discuss the food, and Hoshi calls eggplant a "nostril" when trying to explain to Phlox that it's a fruit rather than a vegetable. In English, Hoshi asks Phlox about his relationship with Ensign Scrunch, but he refuses to answer her questions unless she speaks Denobulan. So, in Denobulan, Hoshi asks if Phlox and Scrunch are mating. Oh, but it's funny because she meant to say "dating." Phlox says he isn't sure what Scrunch's intentions are. Hoshi tells Phlox that "there are ways [he] can tell," and asks if Scrunch wants to spend time with him or if she finds reasons to -- here Hoshi struggles to find the word "touch" in Denobulan -- "make physical contact with you," Hoshi finally says, giving up on vocab and reaching over to Phlox's hand to demonstrate her meaning. Phlox looks uncomfortable (but Hoshi doesn't seem to detect it) and tells her that Scrunch kissed him on the cheek the other night. He asks for Hoshi's advice. "I think you make a very cute washboard," Hoshi tells him in Denobulan. "I beg your pardon!" Phlox says. "Couple!" Hoshi says, laughing in English. "Cute couple!" Linda Park was very good in this scene, but gimme jokes about vocab was only funny in seventh-grade French class.