Lizzie - Chapter 25 - The Payback

They sobbed together, and Lizzie allowed her parents to wipe her tears. Slowly, the sobs became sniffling, then silence.

The three sat there for what must've been ages. But rather than feel suffocated like she had in the past, Lizzie felt warm, she felt comfort, she felt unity. 

A growl from her stomach interrupted the silence.

Lizzie felt her cheeks turn pink and her dad barely held in a snicker. But Jennifer giggled and soon everyone burst out laughing.

"You're right, we should go get some food," Philip finally said. "I'm sure you're sick of the hospital food by now, perhaps we can go get some pancakes for brunch?"

"I'd love that."

"One more thing before we go," Jennifer said, causing everyone else to pause. "Lizzie. For you to forgive me… you don't know how much it means to me. I know I don't deserve it, at least not yet, you've been through far too much because of me. How else can we make it up to you?"

"Are there any new Switch games you'd like? Your birthday is coming up, so maybe we can get something more special, as a way of saying sorry. Maybe even a new console? You mentioned you wanted a new phone too, right?" 

Lizzie's eyes lit up at the thought. "Hm, a new phone would be nice. Doesn't have to be too fancy, but something that doesn't run out of battery all the time or overheat whenever I try to take videos would be nice."

"Consider it done."

Another thought crossed her mind, something that made Lizzie smirk. "But if you really want to make it up to me, I just got another idea, if you're open to it." 

"What is it?"

She leaned and whispered it to her dad, who eyed Jennifer while suppressing a chuckle. "That sounds like a fantastic idea, Lizzie." 

"Oh, whatever this is, I'm not going to like it, am I?" Jennifer sighed. 

***

"Do I really have to do this?" Jennifer's voice came from the other side of the door.

"You did say you wanted to make it up to her, and this definitely seems like the fairest way," Philip said. He turned to Lizzie and the two giggled.

"Fine, but only for today, alright?"

"Yes, of course!" Lizzie said with her sweetest voice.

"Alright, one of you help me with this."

Lizzie had to use all her strength to not burst out laughing as her mom stepped out of the bathroom, dressed head to toe in a light-pink footed sleeper.

However ridiculous she thought she'd been in her Rosalina sleeper paled in comparison to her mom, standing there before her, covered from the neck down in pink, with a figure of Peach embroidered on her chest.

With a small cough, Jennifer turned around. The zipper was only done up to between the shoulders, precisely to the point that was the most difficult to reach.

Lizzie leapt up and moved to help her mom. The situation felt familiar, one that had happened several times before. But this time, with the roles reversed, she could no longer hold back a smile.

Just as she was beginning to pull the zipper up, a thought crossed her mind. She suddenly yanked the tab down, opening the sleeper to reveal the bulky diaper underneath.

Her mom turned around and opened her mouth, but Lizzie interrupted. "Just making sure you put it on properly." Her grin was so wide her cheeks were beginning to hurt. 

Jennifer just shook her head and turned back around. Soon, the zipper was pulled all the way up, and with a satisfying pop, the tab was secured. 

"Well, how do I look?" Jennifer asked, doing a twirl in front of them.

"Cute as a baby," Philip said.

"Adorable," Lizzie said, surprised to realize she somewhat meant it. If her mom looked this cute, maybe, just maybe, she hadn't looked half-bad in it herself.

"Alright, so what's the plan for today?"

"The weather is nice for this time of the year, so I thought we should go on a picnic!" 

"But—"

"It'll be to a secluded place, no one else will be there, don't worry."

"But since it's a longer drive, we have to make sure our little baby is safe on the car," Lizzie said, pulling out a bundle of webbing from her bag.

"Where did you even… nevermind," Jennifer said with a long sigh, and outstretched her arms.

Lizzie smirked, knowing that look of resignation all too well. Obliged to accept her punishments, her mom really could do nothing but accept her situation. 

She soon had the harness draped over her mom. She'd half-expected it not to fit, but was pleased to find that with the straps lengthened nearly to the max, she could clip the buckles with relative ease. Of course, once everything was buckled, she made sure to pull each strap tight, ensuring an ideal fit. 

Lizzie stepped back to admire her handiwork. The harness looked small on her mom's larger frame and the straps dug into her pajamas ever so slightly.

"Try to get out of it," Lizzie challenged, sitting back down.

Jennifer sighed, but put on a show, pulling and stretching the straps as she reached for the zipper. But despite her fingers grasping at it, the zipper had been securely locked in place, and Jennifer wasn't nimble enough to unlock it from behind her back. Lizzie watched as her mom wiggled around, she could see the straps digging into her, sliding ever so slightly over the fabric of her PJs.

"Alright, I'm actually stuck." Jennifer let out a huff. "Are you satisfied?"

"Almost," Lizzie said with a giggle. "I think we need a few more accessories to complete the outfit."

She pulled out the pink mittens, a free gift that had come with the sleeper, and put them over her mom's hands. She double-knotted the bows, now knowing full well that her mom would be keeping her outfit on until she said otherwise. 

Her mom seemed to test her new accessory, staring at it as she flexed her fingers, causing the fabric to stretch ever so slightly.

"Hmm, so that's how these felt. They're more restrictive than I thought."

"One last thing, are you able to hold this?" Lizzie handed her a small pink umbrella. "It's Peach's," she explained.

Jennifer fumbled for a moment before managing to grasp it within her mittened hands. She opened the umbrella, resting it against her shoulder, before turning to them and posing. "So, how do I look?"

"Cute as a button."

"Ready for a day out!" 

Satisfied, Lizzie marched her mom to the car, and proceeded to fasten the clips to secure the harness before buckling the seatbelt over top.

After which, she took out the final accessories she'd borrowed from Aunt Jenny. 

"Hey, I thought you said the umbrella was the final piece!"

"But how else can I be sure our little baby won't bite off her mittens and unfasten herself?" Lizzie said with a pout, doing her best to plead through her eyes.

Jennifer turned to look at Philip, who only shrugged. "I knew nothing about this, she messaged Aunt Jenny herself. But you did promise her anything goes."

"Fine," Jennifer said. She held up her right wrist, allowing the buckle to be fastened around it, before being clipped to the ring by her waist. Her left soon followed and the elbow straps were quickly attached as well, leaving her arms pinned by her sides.

Bending down, Lizzie brought her mom's feet together, securing a padded cuff around each ankle, a buckle in the middle kept them fastened together. 

"There we go, now we know you'll stay seated," Lizzie said with glee, she was enjoying this way too much.

She then took her own seat at the front as her dad hopped into the driver's seat.

They drove out, heading to a secluded park a little ways from town. Throughout the journey, Lizzie secretly glanced back at her mom. 

At first, her mom had tugged at the restraints, seemingly testing their effectiveness. She'd tried moving her hands around, but between the cuffs and the mittens, they were kept obediently pinned by her waist.

She'd attempted to undo the buckles securing her wrists, but being held so closely to her sides, even with her fingers stretching against the fabric, the fasteners were safely out of reach.

After that, she'd flexed around in the mittens, but Lizzie knew from experience that they weren't going anywhere. With her hands pinned, she couldn't even pull them up to bite the cords loose.

Of course, with her hands stuck, the rest of her restraints were as good as locked on.

A grin spread across Lizzie's face as her mom bit her lip, wiggling in her seat. It was the look of realization that she was stuck, truly stuck, until someone released her.

"Are you doing alright back there?" Lizzie's question caused her mom to freeze.

"Yeah… I'm alright," Jennifer said, with what Lizzie could swear was a faint blush on her cheeks. 

But to her credit, her mom didn't complain, and quickly flashed a smile. They turned up the music, and soon they were all singing as they drove out of the city.

***

When they finally arrived an hour later, Lizzie helped her mom take off the accessories, along with her harness. The sleeper stayed on, but she allowed her to put a jacket overtop. 

The park, as expected, was practically empty. Still, her mom walking down the gravel path with her soft pink bottoms peeking out from underneath was truly a sight to behold.

The path eventually ended in a small beach by a peaceful lake, where the family quickly set up their picnic.

They made sandwiches and laid out an assortment of snacks, before devouring it all. They played cards, tossed a frisbee around, and built fortresses in the sand.

They even played some chess, with Lizzie attempting to coach her parents as they made blunder after blunder. 

For dinner, they setup a simple barbecue, enjoying some hotdogs, chicken wings, and skewers.

It was after they finished their food when her mom finally mentioned that she really needed to pee. Lizzie almost considered making her go in her diaper, but decided against it, instead walking with her to the restroom. 

There was no one else inside, so her mom slipped out of her jacket, turning to let Lizzie unzip her. 

She quickly finished her business, and let Lizzie rezip her without a word, only saying a quick thanks before they headed back.

To close out the day, they all lay together on the picnic mat. Her parents read while Lizzie played on her Switch. 

All too soon, the sun began to set, and her dad announced that they had to start heading home.

Lizzie helped pack everything up, sad the day was already ending, but happy thinking back on everything they'd done. 

As they returned to the car, Jennifer spoke up, "we can use the harness if you want, but can we forego the wrist straps for the ride back? I have some work emails I need to reply to."

Being in a charitable mood, Lizzie decided not to use the harness entirely, but of course only after making her mom promise not to unbuckle herself. 

***

Lizzie had just finished her journaling for the night when there was a knock on the door. 

"Yes?"

"Can I come in?" her mom's voice called out.

"Yeah."

"Hey Lizzie," Jennifer said stepping into her room, dressed back in her usual clothes.

"Ya mom?" 

"I hope you had fun today."

Lizzie nodded. "Did you?"

"I did, even though you did put me through quite a lot."

"I'm sorry."

"No, I'm kidding. I completely deserved it." She sat down on the edge of her bed. "If anything, it helped me understand how you must've felt. The harness goes without saying. But the sleeper… it seemed so harmless, but once I was zipped up, knowing I needed someone to let me out… I… I'm sorry Lizzie."

"It's okay. I forgive you."

"I haven't forgotten our promise. Your father and I won't use any of it ever again. And perhaps more importantly, if and when situations arise, we'll make sure to sit down and talk, together, like adults."

"I would appreciate that." The two embraced in a hug, something they'd recently begun doing every night. As her mom pulled up her sheets, a thought crossed her mind. "You know, the sleeper isn't really all that bad."

Her mom gave her a look.

"I mean obviously, as a punishment, I hate it, and it's super annoying not being able to take it off myself. But speaking only about the pajamas themselves, the material is super soft and it doesn't even look half bad. Honestly, it's more comfy than any of my other clothes."

There was a pause before her mom replied. "Would you… would you ever want to wear it again?"

"Maybe… just once in a while though. And only if you and dad would unzip me any time I wanted."

"Of course. Just let us know."

Her mom bent down, giving Lizzie a kiss on the forehead. 

"Goodnight Lizzie, I love you."

"Goodnight mom, I love you too."

---

Author's Note

I'll keep this short - this actually started off as a "fun bonus chapter" at the end of the story. The original plan was to post it after the epilogue, but the more I fleshed it out, the more I thought it contributed enough to the story that it warranted being part of the base story, despite it obviously being a more light-hearted / fun chapter.

What do you think? Did the chapter seem to fit into the story or did it feel very out of place?