As usual, I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog, or the characters. I am merely a fan doing this for the amusement of others.
This was requested by Tailsgirl, who wanted to see a story about Sticks being sick and Tails being there to take care of her. And it just so happened I had already intended to do that, so you're in luck. :)

One day, Tails was working in his workshop after a recent battle against Eggman.
While this attack was a bit more difficult, it was still fairly easy, and they were able to suppress the attack.
But there was one slight problem; Sticks was not present during the fight.

Tails was starting to get worried about her. He had tried to contact her on his communicator, but he could not get a good feed. Everything she said came out sounding scratchy and barely audible. And on top of that, he had not seen her all day. He decided to contact Amy and see if she had heard from Sticks.

"Amy? You there?" Tails asked into his communicator.
"Yes I am." Amy replied back. "What's up?"
"Would you have happened to hear from Sticks by any chance?" Tails asked with worry in his voice.
"So you haven't heard from her either, huh?" Amy replied with a question of her own. "I tried to contact her, but her communicator must be on the fritz."
"So you've had the same issue as I did, huh?" Tails questioned. "When I tried to contact her, her voice came out scratchy and hardly audible."
"That's how she sounded with me as well." Amy commented.
"Well, I going to go check up on her and make sure she's ok." Tails said.
"Ok. Let me know when you get an answer." Amy told him.
"Can do." Tails said as he closed communications and left for Sticks' burrow.

Upon arrival, Tails knocked on the door and awaited a response from Sticks. Tails waited for a good while before Sticks opened the door.
"Oh, hey Tails." she greeted, her voice tired, raspy, and barely over a whisper.
As realization began to hit Tails, he took notice of a few features on Sticks. She had bags under her eyes, dark circles around her eyes, and her muzzle was pale. And when she coughed, she clutched her throat and winces in pain afterwards.

Finally, it clicked; there was nothing wrong with the communicator. It was Sticks herself!

"Sticks, what's wrong?" Tails asked with concern for his girlfriend. "You don't look so good."
"I don't FEEL so well, either." Sticks added. "My throat is really sore. It hurts me to swallow and cough." she explained, followed by a short series of coughs and a wince from her as she clutched her throat in pain.
Tails took on of his gloves off and out the back of his hand on her forehead, only to retract it almost immediately; Sticks was burning up!

Along with that, Tails had a bad idea of what she had.

"Hang on… sore throat, running a fever, not feeling well..." he trailed off as he took out a small flashlight. "Say 'ah' for me please." he instructed. Sticks did as she was told and opened her mouth. Tails turned the flashlight on and held it up to her mouth, noticing several white spots.
Tails shook his head. "Just as I thought… strep throat." he said.

Sticks must have heard him and suddenly got very worried. "I-I-Is it serious? Am I gonna die?!"
"WHA-?! No no no!" Tails assured her as he hugged her comfortingly, slightly laughing. "It's not a serious illness. It's more of an annoyance, really. You'll be fine."
This made Sticks sigh in relief. "How long does it usually last?"
"Usually, only for a couple of days." Tails told her. Sticks felt safe, knowing that she was not going to die.

"Now, do you have any medicine you can take for this?" Tails asked.
Sticks shook her head. "No..."
Tails sighed and scratched the back of his head. "That's what I was afraid of..."
"What can we do?" Sticks asked, now worried again.
Tails thought it over for a few seconds. But it did not take him long before he came up with the perfect idea. "I have an idea; I can take you to my place and take care of you." he told her.

Sticks smiled at his kind-hearted and caring suggestion. It warmed her heart to see how much he cared for her. And while it was not quite the alone-time she would have liked, she was still happy to be with Tails nonetheless.

"Oh, thank you Tails." Sticks said as she hugged him. Tails hugged back as he softly rubbed the back of her head.
"You're welcome." Tails replied. "Now, get a few sets of clothes and undergarments. We'll leave once you do." he instructed.
Sticks did as she was told and loaded a bag full of a few changes of clothes and undergarments. Once packed, Tails draped the bag over his shoulder and picked Sticks up bridal style.
"Ready?" Tails asked. Sticks nodded her head, given that she was trying to relax her voice.

With that, Tails took off for home with Sticks in his arms He tried to be quick, but he also had to go at a steady pace, given that he was carrying Sticks.

Once he made it to his house, Tails set Sticks down on the couch, resting her head on a pillowand covering her up before he went to call Amy to update her on Sticks' condition.

"Hey Amy." Tails said into his communicator.
"Hi Tails." Amy replied. "How is Sticks? Is she okay?"
"Sort of. She has strep throat, I'm afraid." Tails replied. "I've brought her to my house so I can take care of her."
"Well, that's sweet of you." Amy said. "Sticks is a lucky girl to have you."
"Heh. Thanks." Tails said. "Anyways, I'm making vegetable soup for us, because I figure Sticks could sure use it, and I've been in the mood for it. So it all works out." he added with a chuckle.
"That sounds like a good idea." Amy commented. "Well, I won't keep you long. Be sure to take good care of Sticks, ok?"
"I will. See you later." Tails told her as they closed communications.

Tails went to the kitchen and began to prepare the soup, chopping up various vegetables and getting a little chili powder to ad to the broth.
He was glad that Sticks had decided to take a nap, as it gave him plenty of time to cook the soup.

By the time Sticks woke up, the soup was now starting to simmer. Tails soon walked in with a cup of ice water and a trash can.
"Here. The water should cool your throat, and the trash can is for if you feel you're about to throw up." Tails said as he sat down with her.
"Thanks Tails." Sticks said, her voice still raspy and weak.

Tails hated to see her like this. Tails moved her into his lap and wrapped his arm around her waist while moving one hand to the back of her head, softly rubbing it.
"I'm sorry you have to go through this." Tails said.
"It's not your fault." Sticks told him before turning her head away and coughing, clutching her throat afterwards as a stray tear escaped from her eye.
Tails noticed and wiped it away with his thumb. Now, he REALLY felt bad for her, since this pain was actually bringing tears to her eyes. Tails hugged her close, gently rocking her from side-to-side.

They stayed like that until the timer went off, letting Tails know that the soup was ready to eat. Tails set Sticks back down to go to the kitchen to fix him and her a bowl.
When he returned with their bowls, they decided to watch some TV as they ate. The soup, along with the ice-water, were just what Sticks needed. The water soothed her throat, and the soup was soft and easy on her throat.

Once they were done, Tails took their bowls and put them in the sink so they could be washed later. Along with that, he went looking for some medicine for Sticks to take to help with her throat. Soon, he found some special syrup that helped with sore throats, but it would also make Sticks drowsy. However, given her condition, Tails figured she could use some rest. So he got the medicine and went back to Sticks.

"Here. This should help out with your throat. However, I should note that it will also make you drowsy." Tails told her.
"Thank you." Sticks said with a weak smile.
Tails then poured a small amount into the small cup that came with the bottle and gave it to Sticks. She took it and drank it, but because it was so thick, she almost gagged it up. But she managed to keep it down, even though it was yucky.
"Blegh." Sticks said.
"I know it tastes bad, but it will help." Tails said.

After a few minutes, Sticks was beginning to feel sleepy. That, along with her throat feeling a bit better, let her know that the medicine was taking effect. She decided to just take a nap, resting her head on Tails' lap. Tails looked down at her and softly caressed her head, smiling lightly.

For the remainder of the day, Sticks spent her time resting and not doing much, given her condition. And luckily for her, she only had to puke once the whole day.

By night, Tails was getting a bubble bath ready for Sticks. She stunk a little bit, and he figured a warm bath would do her some good by helping her to relax before going to bed. Once the bath was ready, Sticks went in and gently sank into the tub, the warm water soothing her muscles. That, along with the smell of the candles Tails had lit, and the smell of the bubble soap, provided a relaxing and soothing atmosphere for her.

When she was done, Sticks changed into her pajamas and got ready for bed. She climbed into bed and Tails came in to tuck her in.
"How're you feeling?" Tails asked.
"I'm feeling a bit better, but I still feel bad." Sticks told him.
"Well, don't worry." Tails assured her as he caressed her forehead. "If you get to feeling really bad and need something, I'm here for you."
Sticks smiled weakly. "Thanks sweetie."
Tails smiled down at her and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Good night."
"Good night, Tails." Sticks said as she went to sleep.

As Tails left the room he looked back at the sleeping badger. He hoped her strep throat would clear soon. He hated to see her in pain like that.

Within two days, Sticks' throat had gotten better and she could be released with a clean bill of health. But while she got better, Tails ended up catching strep throat himself. But thankfully, Sticks was there to take care of him and help him get better. She figured it was the least she could do to repay him for what he did for her.

*I'm done! How was it? I wasn't to sure of this one, but I hope I did well.
Anyways, let me know what you thought, and I'll see y'all next time. God bless!