But her sleep didn’t last. As her eyes shut, a nagging thought stirred at the back of her mind.

What if I wet?

She pushed the thought out of her head. She had just gone to the washroom, surely she could hold it in until the morning. Right?

But she knew that logic was greatly flawed. She’d tried the technique before, and while it worked sometimes, it hadn’t been foolproof.

What could she do? She’d accidentally ruined the diaper, not that she would even consider wearing it anyway. But she couldn’t wear goodnites either, lest her cousins find out.

Lizzie considered setting an early alarm, she could put on her goodnites again, and take them off before her cousins woke up. But there was a problem: she needed to be sleeping when they woke up if she were to be believed, but she also need to wake up earlier to change. But also not so early that she would risk wetting after going back to sleep. That meant finding the short window, which was further complicated as her cousins woke up at sporadic times. She ruffled her hair, frustrated at a lack of a solution.

Worse yet, another thought irked her. Based on the previous night, what if her goodnites leaked?

As she thought about her options, a realization dawned on her. She never leaked while napping. In fact, she didn’t wear her goodnites on the occasional nap.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized she’d never wet while sleeping in small intervals.

An idea sprang into her head. It was simple, she would set an alarm every two hours, where she would get up to pee really quickly before going back to bed. This would keep her bladder empty enough that surely she was safe from leaking.

With the alarms set and earbuds in, Lizzie went back to sleep, this time, with a smile on her face and peace in her mind.

***

Lizzie stirred awake to the commotion around her. For a moment, she tensed, suddenly all too aware of the void between her legs. However, a quick inspection revealed that she had managed to stay dry.

She yawned, stretching the tiredness out of her body. It had been a long night, who knew waking up every few hours could be so tiring.

“Lizzie, let’s go play,” Alice said excitedly.

“Yeah Lizzie, let’s play,” Charlotte said, looking at her with a mocking grin. “You have to get out of the covers sometime.”

“Sure,” Lizzie said, trying her best to hide a smile, she tossed away the covers and hopped up.

To emphasize her point, Lizzie stretched again, and brazenly adjusted the waistband of her pajamas. The actions left Charlotte staring, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Something wrong?” Lizzie asked, a smirk leaking despite her best efforts. She had done it, her plan had worked flawlessly.

“It’s nothing,” Charlotte muttered.

But before Lizzie could rub it in any more, Aunt Katherine appeared at the door, asking for help in the kitchen.

For a moment, no one volunteered. “I’ll go,” Lizzie said.

“Thank you so much Lizzie,” Katherine said, “If only someone could learn to be as helpful as you.”

Lizzie flashed Charlotte a smirk, before heading out the room.

As she walked by, she overheard Charlotte mutter, “Goody Two Shoes,” under her breath before putting on her earbuds and walking away.

After breakfast, the kids enjoyed a day of fun and play, stopping only for lunch, and dinner.

The kids played with the twin’s expansive collection of Lego. Or at least, all of the kids but Charlotte, who decided she preferred sitting on her laptop alone.

It felt a bit abnormal, even by Charlotte’s standards, and Lizzie brought that up with the other kids.

“Don’t know, she’s been in a bad mood since morning,” Noah said with a shrug.

It was after their early dinner when Mira announced that they were going out for a quick evening hike, and asked all of the kids to change into something warm.

“Awww, hiking?” Calvin complained, to which Charlotte also voiced her dissent. To be honest, Lizzie wasn’t too keen on hiking either, they had spent the afternoon building a massive Lego empire and were just about to start the war.

However, the parents quickly ushered away any complaints, and Lizzie reluctantly changed into a pair of jeans and a grey sweater before wrapping herself in her puffy red jacket.

Slipping into her winter boots, she joined the others in the garage. Lucas was already seated on the van. He had a pair of dark green ski overalls, which matched his puffy green winter jacket. On top of it was his harness, which his mom was busy securing to the rear middle seat.

He also had a pair of black boots. A Christmas-themed hat and matching mittens completed the outfit.

“Wow, aren’t you wrapped up all nice and warm,” Lizzie commented, as she sat down next to Lucas. He gave her a thumbs up in response.

Charlotte joined them in the back, sitting down on the other side. She was wearing a long white jacket, black leggings, and caramel boots. Alice and the twins hopped into the other van.

“Aww, aren’t you three in the perfect Christmas spirit,” Aunt Mira said as she walked by the vehicle. Lizzie looked around, realizing the three of them had indeed dressed in the Christmas colors.

The families drove out, blasting Christmas carols along the way, and Lizzie cheerfully sang along.

“Charlotte angel, want to sing along too?” Katherine asked.

“No, I don’t want to.”

“You sure you don’t want to show off what you’ve learned in choir? Lizzie is in choir too, maybe you can ask her for some tips.”

“Mom!” Charlotte whined. Seeing Lizzie’s smug smile, she hmphed and turned to look out the window.

They soon arrived at a lake, and Lizzie could already see some lights off in the distance.

“This is Lake Helix, every year they put a bunch of decorations and lights around the water. We thought it would be good to come out, get some fresh air, and enjoy the views before bed,” Uncle Samuel explained.

“What a fabulous idea,” Aunt Katherine said, staring at the lights.

“Aren’t they just beautiful?” Jennifer commented dreamily. Philip gave her a hug. Lizzie turned away before she’d have to witness the slobbering kisses.

She headed back to the car, where Jenny was still helping Lucas step off the car.

“Hey Lucas, did you want to walk or use the stroller?” Jenny asked as she zipped up his jacket.

“Stroller, me tired.” Lucas yawned.

“What do we say when we want something, Lucas?” Grant asked.

“Pwease,” Lucas said. “Pwease stroller,” he repeated.

“Alright,” Grant nodded in approval.

“Stroller?” Lizzie asked, walking over to observe.

“Yup,” Grant said. Pulling out a contraption from the back, which he unfolded to reveal a large stroller with two seats.

“Why does it have two seats?” Lizzie asked. The navy blue seats were situated one behind the other.

“We actually got this one used. It was nearly half the price of the one we’d been planning to get, so we jumped at the opportunity. Obviously we only need one of the seats, but the rear one acts as extra storage, and we’ve occasionally used it with Lucas’s playdates,” Jenny explained as she sat and buckled Lucas in.

“Can the stroller work in the snow?” Philip asked.

“Yup, stroller is made for all terrain, it even has snow tires,” Grant said, pointing to the large wheels.

The family soon ventured onto the path around the lake. As Uncle Samuel had promised, the lake was decorated with all sorts of magnificent lights.

Lights shone from within the treetops. Glowing swans floated on the lake, and sparkling reindeer peeked out from behind trees on either side.

Lizzie snapped photo after photo, trying to capture all of the amazing scenery.

The families entered a grove of trees. Lights formed an arch around their heads, guiding them forward like a tunnel through the forest. Several small light animals peered out from between the arches. Lizzie found a couple foxes, a few squirrels, and even an owl.

Ahead, several members of the group rounded the corner and Lizzie heard them gasp. Realizing she’d fallen behind, she hurried to catch up. Rounding the corner, her mouth opened in awe.

Over top of the lake was a massive inflatable Santa, sitting in a beautifully illuminated sleigh. His reindeer pranced in front of him, all of them floating in the air, swirling up in a spiral pointed toward the stars. At the very top was Rudolph, his red nose somehow still standing out in the midst of the bright scene.

“Wow.” Lizzie said. She couldn’t find any cables or pillars anywhere around the structure, giving the entire floating display a magical aura.

Even Charlotte looked awestruck as they all took a moment to admire the beautiful scene.

After a series of photos, the family finished the lap around the lake before heading home. Lizzie shared the photos with Ivie and Madison, both of them were awed by the floating Santa.

“so whatchu up to?” She asked Madison.

“nm just cleaning up after the party”

“im so sad i missed it saw all the photos”

“ya was a blast… but dw there will be plenty more… speaking of which wanna do a sleepover soon?”

“yes!!! i can ask my parents” Lizzie smiled, already looking forward to it.

Back at the house, the kids resumed their Lego wars. The battle was of epic proportions, with heroes, dragons, dinosaurs, and Lucas’s Chompa all fighting together.

After the battle, the kids were looking for something else to do. Calvin and Charlotte went off alone to the basement, while the others went to watch some TV with the parents.

One by one, the children left to go downstairs. Lizzie found herself pretty disinterested in the show as well, so she went to find the others.

“Lizzie, Lizzie, perfect timing. Do you want to play you in chess?” Calvin asked with a wide smile on his face.

“Oh, sure,” Lizzie said, a bit taken aback by his enthusiasm.

“But I wanna play house!” Alice complained.

“How about this, you let Calvin and I play a quick game, then we can play house with you, okay?” It would only take a few minutes anyway.

“I’ve been practicing a lot, I’m sure I can beat you.”

“Don’t you remember from last time?” Noah asked. “I haven’t even seen you practicing.”

“I play online!”

“Alright, alright, relax.” She quickly brought and setup her chessboard.

“A chess match? Boring…” Charlotte commented.

“You don’t have to watch if you’re not interested. You can keep watching your Netflix or whatever.”

“Why don’t you guys make it more interesting though, like put something on the line?” Charlotte asked.

“Like a bet?”

“How about the loser has to be the baby for house later?” Calvin suggested.

“That’s not even a punishment,” Lizzie said.

“What if the loser also has to wear Lucas’s harness for the rest of the night?” Charlotte suggested.

Lizzie frowned. Knowing Charlotte, she was scheming something. Did she just want to see Calvin wearing the harness?

“Sure,” Lizzie said. She had nothing to worry about, chess was her game after all.

Calvin agreed as well, and so the two began setting up. Lizzie even gave Calvin the white pieces in confidence.

“Hmm, okay, I’ll start with e4,” Calvin said. The two began their game.

Lizzie played her response. “Hmm, e5, interesting,” Calvin said. “I’ll play knight g6.”

“Just because you know chess notation doesn’t mean you’re gotten any better,” Lizzie taunted, playing her next move.

“Knight c6, just as expected.”

“Do you really have to call out every single move?”

“No, but it helps me think.” Calvin said. “Do you have a problem with it?”

“It’s just annoying.”

“Sounds like you’re just afraid of losing. Bishop c4.”

“If you think a little bit of chess notation is going to intimidate me, think again.”

The game continued on. Charlotte quickly got bored and left. Lizzie couldn’t fathom why she’d bothered making them bet in the first place.

But despite her earlier banter, Calvin’s commenting was beginning to get on Lizzie’s nerves. However complaining would only seem like she was making excuses.

Perhaps just as annoying, was the fact that Lizzie couldn’t get an advantage. Calvin was notably playing much slower than last Thanksgiving. His moves were methodical and precise. Had he really gotten that much better in a single month?

Irritated, Lizzie played a move, only to notice the blunder immediately after lifting her hand. She winced. But would Calvin see the move?

He thought for a bit, before methodically moving his knight to fork Lizzie’s rook and queen. He however, kept an even expression.

Lizzie cursed under her breath, moving her queen out of the way.

“Aha! I got your rook!” Calvin bragged, much to her irritation.

Lizzie fought on. Down the exchange, she needed a play to win. Noticing Calvin’s king was slightly misplaced, she decided on an all-out attack.

She threw check after check at Calvin’s king, however, he always seemed to have the right answer.

Lizzie sacrificed another piece, having seen a tricky line leading to checkmate. However, through some careful maneuvering, Calvin’s king managed to slip through the cracks, ducking safely out of the range of Lizzie’s queen.

She facepalmed, how could she have missed that line?

Lizzie battled on valiantly, but now down a clean rook, and with Calvin playing the game of his life, she eventually got traded down to a very losing endgame.

Charlotte returned, just in time to hear Calvin exclaim checkmate as Lizzie’s final defences fell.

“Looks like you lost,” Calvin said. “Good game.” He extended his hand.

“Good… game…” Lizzie stared at the board, dumbfounded.

Make no mistake, Lizzie was no stranger to losing; she lost plenty of games when she played online.

However, what Lizzie couldn’t believe is that she had just lost to Calvin of all people. Sure, she had played a pretty poor game, far below the level she normally played at. But this was the same Calvin that had played quickly and without thought. The one she could’ve beaten with her eyes closed a month ago. Just how had he suddenly turned into a methodical chess god?

“Time for house! Time for house!” Alice cheered, seemingly just happy that the game was over.

They joined Alice, who was already busy preparing the food.

“Not so fast, I think someone needs to put this on.” Lizzie turned around to see Charlotte holding a bag.

In her daze, Lizzie had completely forgotten about the bet. “Wait-” Lizzie began, but quickly cut herself off. She had lost fair and square. She didn’t want to sound like a sore loser in front of her cousins. “Fine, do you even know how to put it on?”

“I’m sure we can figure it out. Oh and since you’re the baby for the night, you should put this on too.” Charlotte pulled out the Rosalina footie.

“Hey! Who said you could go around my stuff?” Lizzie asked. Had Charlotte been sneaking around during the game? Had she seen her…

“Relax, they were on top of the your bed. I didn’t touch any of your stuff. But I think you should still wear them since you’re a baby. Baby’s don’t decide what they wear.”

“And who made you mom? Besides, that wasn’t part of the dare.”

The two looked around. Calvin simply shrugged, while Alice, Noah, and Lucas all disagreed with Charlotte.

Lizzie flashed a triumphant smile at Charlotte’s disappointment. But her small victory was soon quashed as Charlotte began pulling Lucas’s harness out of the bag.

The kids began piecing the harness together around Lizzie’s body. Lizzie stepped into the straps like she’d seen Lucas earlier.

“How did you manage to get his harness anyway?”

“Aunt Jenny said they had a spare, so I went to borrow it. She just gave me the entire bag.” Charlotte responded as she fastened two straps behind her.

The kids eventually figured out all of the straps, and soon the harness was secured around Lizzie. Albeit, the straps hung somewhat loosely around her.

“That doesn’t seem right, I think it needs to be tighter.” Charlotte played around with the straps, but couldn’t tighten them.

“Hurry up,” Lizzie said, trying to sound irritated.

“Shh, baby’s don’t talk.”

Lizzie simply rolled her eyes while Alice went to grab Aunt Jenny.

“I was wondering who wanted to try the harness.” Jenny appeared at the doorway.

“She lost a bet, so she has to wear it until bed,” Noah explained.

“Well, if you’re gonna wear it, you should put it on right,” Jenny said, before going about tightening the straps.

One by one, Lizzie felt the straps pull close around her body, until they hugged her in a tight embrace. She stared at the floor, just wanting to get this over with.

“There we go, you kids have fun. Let me know if you need any help with the harness later,” Jenny said before leaving.

Lizzie was still staring at the floor when a bright light flashed at her.

“Hey!” Lizzie said, as Charlotte tried to hide her phone. “Delete that right now!”

“We never said no pictures.” Charlotte teased, dancing away.

“Charlotte, cut it out. She agreed to the harness, pictures are just mean,” Noah said.

“Yeah,” Alice agreed.

“Fine.” Charlotte muttered. “Deleted, happy now?” she showed the screen to the group. “Of course everyone’s always…” Lizzie overheard her mutter.

“Let’s just get on with house,” Lizzie said, eager to divert attention onto something else. “So what’s the plan mom and dad?” She asked Alice and Lucas.

“We’re going to picnic! Lucas and I already started preparing the food,” Alice said, dragging them over to her toy kitchen.

Lizzie moved forward to help, only to be suddenly be pulled back.

“Hey!” Lizzie turned around to see Charlotte holding a cord that she had connected to the back of her harness.

“Baby sister, you don’t need to help. You can just sit down and crawl around,” Charlotte said with smirk. “Leave it to us adults and older kids to do the preparation.”

“I’m a baby, not a dog, I don’t need a leash. Where did you even get that?”

“I just found it in the accessories. Think of them as baby reins. You know, so you don’t run into traffic or something.”

“Take it off.”

“Nope, no way,” Charlotte stuck her tongue out.

If Charlotte wasn’t going to take it off, then she would just do it on her own. Lizzie felt for the cable behind her. It was attached to the middle of her back, but Lizzie couldn’t get a firm grasp on it. Lizzie tugged at the harness, trying to pull it so she could reach it.

Charlotte giggled as she witnessed Lizzie’s frustration. Lizzie glared at her, thinking of how she was gonna make her pay.

“Kids, kids, no fighting, it’s time to go picnic.” Alice reappeared, interrupting her thoughts.

“Let’s go little one,” Charlotte said, tugging at the harness.

“Not so fast, I need you two kids to help with the backpacks,” Alice handed Calvin and Charlotte each a large backpack.

“What did you fill these with?” Calvin groaned, struggling to hold the weight.

“Our drinks and snacks of course! Also, Noah, you can hold onto Lizzie. Make sure our baby doesn’t run away.”

Lizzie opened her mouth to protest, but sighed instead. What did she have to say? It was too late to back out now, so the best she could do now was just get house over with.

“Alright, everyone ready? Daddy Lucas lead the way!”

The family soon set out on their hike, which consisted of walking all around the house. As expected, Noah was gentle with the reins, making sure to keep slack in it and Lizzie didn’t feel much restriction as they moved around. At least, not any extra restriction than the harness that was securely fastened around her body.

Her hands fiddled with the wide strips of fabric. The straps weren’t tight as to hurt or dig into her in any way, yet they were just tight enough to be a constant reminder that she was wearing them.

Her thoughts flashed back to the mall during Thanksgiving, where she’d seen the siblings with the harnesses. She thought back to the older boy, who’d stood quietly, wearing the childish animal backpack as his dad held onto his reins. She imagined herself in his shoes, suddenly very glad that they weren’t in public.

“Lizzie, what are you wearing?” Uncle Joseph asked, shaking Lizzie back to reality. Their family had just walked by the living room, where the adults were hanging out. Her uncle’s question caused all of the adults to turn their heads toward her.

“She lost a bet,” Charlotte explained with a smirk, “So, she’s baby for house, and has to wear the harness.”

Lizzie shuffled on, eager to get out of the stares. But she had barely taken two steps when she felt herself jerked back.

“Oops,” Noah said, moving forward to give her some space.

“Well, at least your baby will be safe on your hike,” Philip commented as the other adults tried unsuccessfully to stifle their chuckling.

Lizzie hung her head, she could feel her cheeks glowing.

“Lets go,” Lucas said, ushering the kids forward. Lizzie jumped at the opportunity, practically dragging Noah behind her.

The group finally settled down in one of the basement bedrooms. Alice quickly began setting up, pulling out a large picnic blanket and setting snacks along the floor.

“Explains why they were so heavy,” Charlotte said as Alice pulled out several cans of soda. A box of Oreos, a bag of Doritos, and even a few packs of trail mix from the first backpack.

“Did you just pack our entire pantry?” Calvin asked.

“Mom’s not gonna let us eat all of these,” Noah added.

“I asked Auntie Katherine, she said it was fine!” Alice said.

“Yeah, but mom’s not like Aunt Katherine,” Noah countered.

“Hmph, but I’m the mom!” Alice whined, pouting as she stomped on the ground.

“Maybe we eat just little? Then all happy?” Lucas asked.

Lizzie smiled at Lucas. He really was far more intelligent at reading these situations than people gave him credit for.

“Lucas is right,” Lizzie said, “and he is the dad. What does mommy Alice think?”

After a few sniffles, Alice eventually agreed. “Okay, everyone is only allowed one can of soda then, and don’t eat too many snacks daddy and mommy will be watching!” She said, taking charge once again.

Alice even made Charlotte and Calvin get plates and cups for the group. Lizzie smiled, laying back as the others helped to setup. This was one good part about being the baby.

“Did you want orange Fanta again?” Noah, in charge of distributing the drinks, asked, holding out a can.

“Wait,” Calvin said, snatching the can before Lizzie could grab it. “She has to use this,” Calvin held up a plastic sippy cup. “This is Alice’s old one,” Calvin said as he poured the drink into the bottle before sealing it and handing it back to her.

Before Lizzie could complain, Lucas took the bottle. “Me help feed Lissie.”

“Really?” Lizzie asked. But Alice agreed, stating it was cute. Left with no alternatives, Lizzie sighed, sitting against a wall, but Lucas got her to sit in his lap instead, much to Lizzie’s embarrassment, before holding the bottle to her lips.

However, the drink remained in the bottle. Realizing what had to be done, she sighed, putting her lips around the silicone tip and sucking.

The process was painfully slow as the drink slowly flowed into her mouth.

She imagined what she looked like to the others, a cute baby in a harness sipping from a bottle. Unable to look at Lucas or the others, she stared into the wall instead. Despite this, she could feel their eyes on her as she suckled.

After a few small sips, she sat up, she couldn’t bare the embarrassment any longer.

“Lissie no want?” Lucas asked.

Lizzie paused. She was thirsty, but did she really want to continue being fed? She looked around.

Alice was handing out snacks. Noah was making sure that she wasn’t giving anyone too much. Calvin and Charlotte were busy setting up battleship to play, and even Charlotte was just on her phone. She had been sure the others had been staring at her earlier, but no one seemed interested.

“No phones,” Alice said, swiping Charlotte’s phone from her. “You’re only seven. Seven year olds don’t have phones. You can play battleship with your older brother Calvin,” Alice continued.

In a sudden epiphany, Lizzie realized that everyone was simply playing along in their roles. Why not just use this opportunity to be a carefree baby?

“Yes daddy Lucas, Lissie want more,” Lizzie said, purposely using her baby voice.

With the embarrassment out of the way, Lizzie actually enjoyed receiving the rest of the bottle. Afterwards, they continued their picnic. Fully assuming her role, Lizzie used her baby voice, even fake crying to get her mommy to give her a hug.

The kids began playing cards while Lucas cleaned up some of the dishes. He seemed happy to be left with the responsibility. Lizzie volunteered to help, but both parents told her to just play.

They played cards for a bit, but being the baby, she was relegated to watching from the sidelines.

Bored, her attention turned back to her harness, and she began toying with the lead in her hand.

Suddenly, she had an idea. “Catch me if you can!” She said as she leapt up. She was already out the door before the others could react.

“Baby Lizzie come back!” Alice yelled.

“I’ll get her!” Calvin said, leaping to his feet. Noah and Lucas quickly followed.

The kids chased after her, Lizzie giggling the entire time. She made it up to one of the upstairs bedrooms, where she hid inside a closet.

However, the other kids were not far behind, and soon the door to the bedroom swung open.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Calvin called out.

Lizzie could hear them walking around, but they couldn’t seem to find her. Eventually, the door was shut, and the room fell back to silence.

“Boo!”

Lizzie jumped as the closet door swung open. “Our little baby left her reins dangling,” Calvin said, holding the other end up.

Caught, Lizzie could do nothing as the other kids marched her back downstairs.

“Bad baby Lizzie!” Alice scolded her when she returned. “What would have happened if you fell down a cliff or got eaten by bears?”

Lizzie hung her head in fake shame and muttered an apology.

“There, this will make sure she doesn’t run off again,” Calvin said.

Lizzie turned around to see Calvin had tied her reins to one of the bed frames in the room.

“Good idea,” Alice said.

Soon the others got back to playing cards, and Lizzie once again grew bored. She eyed her phone, which was on the other end of the blanket.

Lizzie reached out for it, but was quickly jerked back as the little slack in her lead pulled taught.

No problem, she just needed to untie herself quickly, grab her phone, and sit back down before the others noticed.

Lizzie began working on the knots. Calvin had wound it around the foot of the bed a few times before tying several knots.

Did Calvin really have to tie this so tight?

“Hey! The baby is trying to escape!” Calvin said.

Lizzie retracted her hands behind her back as all eyes turned to her.

“I just wanted my phone,” Lizzie said. A feeling of shame arose from within her. Even though they were just playing around, she couldn’t help but feel like a child caught red-handed.

“Babies aren’t allowed phones, besides you’re being punished for running away earlier,” Alice said matter-of-factly.

“But she’s just going to untie them again when we aren’t paying attention,” Calvin said.

“I have an idea,” Charlotte said. “I found these inside Lucas’s harness bag.” She pulled out a set of straps.

Intrigued, Lizzie watched as Charlotte wrapped one of the straps in a loop around her wrist. They were padded on the inside and closed with a simple buckle. A spring-loaded clip then secured the strap to a ring on the harness strap at her waist.

“What are they?” Alice asked.

“Handpuffs,” Lucas explained, “for when naughty.”

“Hey, then I can’t use my hands,” Lizzie complained.

“Duh, that’s sorta the point.” Charlotte rolled her eyes, moving to secure the other hand.

“No thanks,” Lizzie said, easily moving out of the way. But Calvin, and even Noah soon moved in to assist. With one arm pinned down, Lizzie was no match for the three of them, and she soon found her other hand secured as well.

“Hmph,” Lizzie grunted, playfully tugging at the straps.

“There, there, little one, this is your punishment. You can stay there for thirty minutes,” Alice said, patting her on the head.

“Can’t she still untie herself?” Noah asked, pointing out that she just had to turn around.

“How about this?” Calvin untied the reins and brought Lizzie over to the closet. Reaching up, he managed to tie the end of the reins to the railing above.

The lead was now fastened with a simple knot above Lizzie’s head. However, with her wrists pinned at her sides, there was no way she could reach it.

The other kids soon left her alone and returned to their games. Lizzie tugged, but the reins pulled tight, and she realized she wasn’t going anywhere. She had enough slack to sit down on the floor, but couldn’t move too far from the closet before being pulled back.

Lizzie wasn’t too worried, after all, she was just playing along, all she had to do was release her hands, and she’d be able to untie herself all the same.

The wrist straps looked simple enough, all she had to do was release the clip securing the strap to her waist, and everything else would fall apart.

However, what she quickly realized was that the clip was so close to her wrist that there was no way for her to actually reach it. Lizzie pulled hard with her arm, trying to maneuver her fingers. She managed to scratch the clip with her fingernails, but despite her best efforts, it remained secured. She attempted to bend down and use her teeth, but secured at her waist she couldn’t reach it.

Reaching over to the unbuckle the opposite hand turned out to be a futile effort as well, as her wrists were fastened on opposite sides.

With that plan exhausted, Lizzie attempted to release the buckles behind her to take off the reins. But quickly realized that with her arms pinned by her sides, it was even further out of reach.

It was only then that Lizzie realized she was genuinely stuck. She couldn’t unclip her hands which meant she couldn’t untie the reins nor take off the harness.

“Hey guys, can you untie me?” Lizzie called out to the others. “The harness was fun, but I’m sort of tired of it now.”

“You’re actually stuck?” Charlotte asked with a snicker.

“Yes, so untie me.”

“You’re just being a sore loser,” Charlotte said. To which Calvin nodded.

“And you tried to run away earlier,” Alice said.

“You did lose the bet, and you are being punished for running away.” Even Noah agreed with the others.

“But I’m bored, I can’t do anything without my hands.”

“There’s still twenty-five minutes in your punishment. You can nap, babies need naps.”

“I’m not a—“ Lizzie started, but held herself back.

She took a deep breath and exhaled. It was obvious from everyone’s expression they weren’t going to let her off easy.

Like it or not, the others did have a point, she had indeed gotten herself into this situation.

Lizzie’s only other alternative was to get angry and throw a tantrum or yell to the adults for help.

Given the attention she’d already received today, Lizzie decided it wasn’t in her best interest to stir up any more drama. Besides, hearing the mention of naps, Lizzie suddenly felt tired. Last night’s poor sleep catching up to her.

“Can you at least get me a blanket and pillow then, I’ll nap and you will untie me after the nap, okay?” Lizzie asked.

Charlotte opened her mouth to speak, but Alice spoke first. “Yup, twenty-five minutes. Daughter Charlotte go grab some pillows and blankets.”

With a blanket covering her and a kiss on the forehead from both of her parents, Lizzie lied down to sleep. As she rested her head, the others went back to playing. Giggling and laughing like a happy family. At least everyone else was having fun. She yawned, eager to nap and get the harness off as soon as possible.

***

Lizzie opened her eyes to darkness. She sat up to stretch. Or at least, she tried to, as she moved to support herself, she found her arms weren’t moving from her sides.

She yanked, before feeling something pull tight around her body.

The harness, she realized, as she began recalling her plight.

The dim glow of moonlight shone through the room. The toys from the picnic had been cleaned up, the door to the room closed. Where had everyone gone?

As she sat up, she felt a growing ache from her bladder. She needed to pee. Sitting up, she realized she needed someone to untie her, and fast. Two steps toward the door, Lizzie felt herself get jerked back. The surprise causing her to fall backward onto her blanket.

The reins, it was still connected to the pole, she realized.

“Hey, where are you guys? I need someone to untie me,” Lizzie called out, but there was no response.

She called out again, and again, but each time she was left alone in the dark silence.

In the distance, she could hear feint sounds of laughter, as well as the sounds of Mario. They must have moved onto playing with her Switch.

She tugged, maybe she could break the straps. But the action only served to tighten the other straps of the harness, causing them to dig into her body.

Lizzie grunted. The straps were obviously far too strong for her to break. She needed to escape. The end of her reins were tied in to the pole, only inches above her head. But with her arms pinned by her sides, they might as well have been locked in place.

Perhaps she could forcefully break the knot. On her feet, she pulled hard against the pole, but the knot held firm, instead once again causing the straps to pull tight around her chest and crotch.

This was no longer fun and games. Lizzie wanted out. “Help!” she called, as she continued to pull the harness.

“Help!” She called louder, feeling the straps beginning to suffocate her.

“Somebody help me!” Lizzie cried out. Her eyes beginning to well with tears.

“Hel—“ Lizzie started, as the door suddenly swung open, flooding light into the room.

“Lizzie?” Her Aunt Jenny said, stepping into the room. “Lizzie, what happened?”

Without waiting for an answer, her aunt immediately got to work, releasing Lizzie’s hands first, before working on the buckles in the back.

As the harness fell to the floor, Lizzie felt herself collapse into her aunt’s arms.

“I thought… I thought… I was going to be stuck forever,” Lizzie sobbed, burying her head into her aunt’s shoulder. “I… I tried… I tried to get help but… But nobody was there…” Lizzie stuttered between short breaths.

“It’s okay now, Lizzie. Oh I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have left you kids alone with the harness. But you are all okay now,” Jenny said as she comforted her.

She kept holding onto Lizzie, stroking her back gently, as Lizzie’s breathing eventually returned to normal.

“Thank you auntie,” Lizzie finally said, still sniffling a bit.

“No, I’m sorry Lizzie. I shouldn’t have let them borrow the harness. I thought it was just for a bit, and I saw you kids had moved onto playing Mario so I thought… I didn’t even realize I left the wrist straps in the bag…” Jenny continued to apologize profusely.

“It’s okay,” Lizzie said, wiping the remnants of tears from her eyes. “I just got scared for a little bit because it was dark.” Now that she was free, Lizzie even felt a little embarrassed to have cried out for help.

“I’m just glad you’re alright.”

“If you don’t mind, I need to use the washroom,” Lizzie said sheepishly. Her aunt laughed, helping Lizzie onto her feet and nudging her on.

“Go get yourself sorted out. I’ll clean up the harness.”

On the toilet, Lizzie thought about the night. The harness, the bottle, the reins, she couldn’t get the picture of being a baby out of her mind.

While she had to admit it had been fun being taken care of, the feeling of being abandoned and stuck was not an experience Lizzie wanted to repeat.

She didn’t like the harness. While it did give a feeling of safety like the harness, it was far less soft, and far too restrictive with the wrist straps and lead.

Wearing it made her feel like a child being punished. Or a little girl who couldn’t control herself and not wander off. The entire ordeal made Lizzie blush.

How had she ended up stuck in the harness anyway? Her thoughts drifted toward the chess game. Even now, she couldn’t believe it. How could Calvin have beaten her at her game?

Lizzie recalled the moves. She pictured the board, the others watching, the banter. She could hear Calvin calling out his moves nonchalantly while listening to music on his airpods.

Wait… Lizzie thought. Airpods?

She dove deep into her memory. Airpods… She hadn’t thought too much about it, Calvin had been wearing airpods during the game, Lizzie was sure of it.

The calling of moves, the airpods, the slow methodical play. Suddenly, everything clicked.

***

“You guys cheated!” Lizzie accused as she stepped into the room.

“Cheated what?” Noah asked, pausing the game.

“No not you, them,” She pointed her fingers.

“What are you talking about?” Calvin asked.

“You guys cheated during the chess game.”

“No I didn’t,” Calvin said, resuming the game.

“Hey, I’m talking to you!” Lizzie said, swiping the controller from his hand.

“Hey!” Calvin said, as his character died on screen.

“What’s the commotion going on here?” Aunt Mira and Jennifer stepped into the room.

“These two cheated during the chess game so that I would have to wear Lucas’s harness,” Lizzie said. “Calvin was calling out all of the moves while Charlotte was recording them down, using a chess engine to tell him the correct moves to play!”

“What do I have to do with it?” Charlotte asked.

Lizzie paused. Did she have any concrete proof? “He was wearing airpods. And only you have them.”

“I was just loaning it to him.”

“Sounds like you’re just mad you lost,” Calvin added.

“Why would you use them during a chess game though?” Noah asked. “And I knew the move calling was odd. You never did that when playing with me.”

“I—“ Calvin started, but was cut off by his mom.

“Enough. I’ve heard enough. Calvin, Charlotte, you two come with me,” Aunt Mira said. Her chill tone sent shivers down even Lizzie’s spine. “The rest of you kids get ready for bed.”

“And Lizzie, you come with me,” Jennifer said.

“What, why? I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“It’s not because of that, I have something else to talk to you about.”

This wasn’t good. Lizzie recognized that tone, and knew better than to argue. The two walked in silence back to Jennifer’s room where her father was pacing around the room, a hand on his chin.

Jennifer shut the door and motioned for Lizzie to sit.

“What is it mom?” Lizzie asked in her most polite voice, linking her hands together in front of her as she took a seat at the edge of the bed.

“Can you explain to me what this is?” Jennifer held up a bundle of white.

“A… diaper?” Lizzie asked, unsure of what her mom was getting at.

“Indeed, in fact, it’s your diaper. So do you care to explain to me why your Aunt Mira found this perfectly dry diaper stuffed in the bathroom cabinet with the tapes ripped off?”

Shit. Lizzie froze. She’d completely forgotten to throw it out.

“I… but…” Lizzie’s mind raced for an excuse. Her eyes flickered from her mom’s stern expression to her dad’s crestfallen look. It was not the look of anger, but instead of disappointment. Lizzie felt a pang of regret in her stomach. They had trusted her, and she had let them down.

“I took them off last night.” Lizzie admitted, lowering her head.

“Elizabeth, you—“ Jennifer started, but Philip put a hand on her shoulder.

“Why did you take them off Lizzie?”

“I…” Lizzie swallowed. “I was embarrassed because they kept teasing me. I wanted to prove to them I didn’t wear diapers.”

“Who?”

“Calvin and Charlotte, but mostly Charlotte.”

Her parents exchanged glances. Lizzie simply sat quietly, twiddling her thumbs as she kept her head down.

“They shouldn’t have done that.” Philip broke the silence. “Your mom and I will go talk to their parents about it. But even if they were teasing you, you could have come to talk to us or their parents instead of potentially wetting the bed. You know better.”

“I…” Lizzie wanted to explain how she had a plan, but she already knew her mom’s response. She’d complain about how it wasn’t foolproof and that she still broke her promise.

“Yes,” Lizzie said. “I know…”

“We’ve talked about promises and breaking them. You know that makes it difficult for your father and I to treat you like an adult.”

“I know… I’m sorry… It won’t happen again,” Lizzie said, struggling to keep her voice straight.

“We understand that your cousins made you uncomfortable, and we’ll talk with their parents to sort things out. But if it happens again, you’re going to be in very big trouble, understand?”

Lizzie nodded, not trusting herself to reply.

“Go get showered and ready for bed. I’ll come by in twenty minutes with your new diaper.”

“Yes mom,” Lizzie sniffled, shuffling out of the door.

***

Jennifer was already waiting outside when Lizzie finished showering.

“Here,” her mom said, handing her a fresh diaper, which Lizzie put on with no complaints. She then kept her mouth shut as her mom checked it, refastening the tapes so it wrapped snug around her waist.

“Put this on as well.” Jennifer handed her a bundle of light blue fabric, which Lizzie recognized as her Rosalina sleeper.

“But—“ Lizzie started, but quickly bit her tongue.

“But nothing. You’ve proven that you can’t be trusted to keep on your diapers. It’s either this, or you sleep with us, or we tell the others to keep an eye on your diapers. I think you prefer this way, don’t you?”

“Yes.” Lizzie sighed internally. Grabbing the garment, she began slipping into it.

She’d already known she wouldn’t get off scot-free, and this was an obvious punishment in retrospect. At the very least, she could explain to the others she just felt like wearing her Christmas gift and hopefully not arouse any suspicions.

As soon as she slipped it on, her mom moved to help with the zipper. The sound of the snaps closing sent a small shiver down Lizzie’s spine as she knew she was now stuck in the diaper sleeper until someone released her.

“Alright, now come with me.”

Lizzie looked at her with a quizzical face. Was there another punishment? Wasn’t this already enough?

When her mom chose to ignore her stare, Lizzie had no choice but to follow her down to the basement, where she noticed Aunt Mira by one of the bathrooms.

“Ah, there you are Lizzie.”

“I’m sorry Aunt Mira. I know what I did was wrong.” Lizzie hung her head.

“Thanks Lizzie. I know it wasn’t all your fault too. In fact, that’s why you’re here. Calvin, Charlotte, come over here.”

Lizzie lifted her head, and what she saw made her mouth drop.

Charlotte and Calvin stepped out from around the corner, both wearing navy-blue footed sleepers. A closer look confirmed her suspicions, the sleepers were back-zip, just like the ones she’d worn for Thanksgiving. Just like the one she was wearing now.

“What?” The question escaped her lips.

“I was thinking about how to punish the two of them for cheating and tricking you into the harness when your parents came and mentioned the teasing. Noah and Alice confirmed it. Now, what do you two have to say to Lizzie?”

“I’m sorry Lizzie,” Calvin and Charlotte muttered.

“Hello? She’s up here, not on the floor. Look at her eyes when you’re apologizing, and clarify what you’re sorry for. Calvin you first.”

“I’m sorry Lizzie, I shouldn’t have teased you for your pajamas,” Calvin said, his voice a bit more nasally than usual.

“And?”

“And for cheating to make you wear the harness.”

“Charlotte?”

“I’m sorry Lizzie, I shouldn’t have teased you either,” Charlotte said, for once her proud smirk wasn’t present. “I’m also sorry for tricking you into the harness. I just thought it was funny. We didn’t purposely leave you in there, we just forgot, honest!” she quickly added.

Seeing their swollen eyes and red cheeks, Lizzie actually sympathized with them. The two must’ve had quite a scolding.

“I accept your apologies,” Lizzie said.

“Now there’s nothing wrong with Lizzie’s footie pajamas and goodnites. Lizzie’s needing protection is not her fault.”

Lizzie’s heart fell at the mention of her goodnites, her cover was blown.

“Lizzie, I’m sorry but your cousins already knew about your bedwetting. But it’s nothing to be ashamed of, it’s not your fault. I’m sure you were confident you wouldn’t wet, but what you did was reckless. If any of them ever tease you again, I want you to come straight to us, rather than try and solve the problem yourself. You need to know that us adults will always be here to help. Understand?”

“Yes Aunt Mira,” Lizzie said.

“As for you two… Teasing anyone, let alone your own cousin is absolutely not okay. Do you both understand?” Mira asked.

“Yes,” the two said.

“Now, hug it out, the three of you. Then you can all finish getting ready for bed.”

Lizzie walked over to her younger cousins, where the three awkwardly got into a group hug. All of them doing their best to avoid eye contact. Upon hugging, Lizzie felt a padded bump around her cousins’ waists.

The two of them were also wearing diapers! The realization made Lizzie chuckle slightly.

Thankfully, Mira didn’t seem to notice, and the three of them quickly left.

After brushing their teeth and washing their faces, the three joined the others in the room.

“Aww, aren’t you all adorable?” Aunt Jenny said as they entered. “It’s like all of you are matching, come, let’s get a picture.”

Indeed, with the exception of Noah, all of them were wearing footed sleepers. And even he happened to be wearing a one-piece for tonight. Lucas seemed particularly happy that everyone was matching his style.

At first, Lizzie didn’t feel like taking any pictures, but then she remembered that they already had plenty of pictures in the Rosalina sleeper, and now they would have pictures of Charlotte and Calvin in back-zip sleepers too.

“Where did Aunt Mira get the pajamas from?” Lizzie asked Jenny after the pictures. “Lucas’s should be too large for them, right?”

“Well, it was quite a coincidence actually. Remember the bags of clothes for the church drive? Well, there happened to be several pairs of old sleepers we were planning to donate.

“After hearing about what happened, I suggested they should at least try it and realize there’s absolutely nothing wrong with some footed sleepers. In fact, they’re quite comfy, wouldn’t you agree?”

Lizzie nodded politely. Staying silent on the fact that they were childish, not to mention that Lucas’s escape-proof ones added their own set of problems. But, she did agree that footed sleepers in general were quite comfortable, they never bunched up when she tossed and turned in bed.

“Now, everyone tuck yourselves in, I’ll be back in ten minutes to shut off the lights,” Jenny said before guiding Lucas upstairs.

“So, we’re being punished, but why are you wearing your footed sleeper?” Charlotte asked after they left.

“What’s wrong with wearing it? It’s warm and nice. Besides, it was a gift from Lucas and I wanted him to feel good,” Lizzie recited her prepared excuse. She’d thankfully foreseen the question coming.

“But…” Charlotte started, but something made her stop. “Nevermind.”

Lizzie was tempted to ask Calvin and Charlotte how the diapers felt, but held herself back, knowing it would only backfire.

The kids soon quieted down and settled in. As she rolled around, a part of Lizzie felt comforted by the fact that, at least for tonight, she wasn’t the only one stuck in her diapers.