A/N: I know I said I would start posting in January - and I will - but the first chapter was already written and I thought I'd post so you guys can get the feel of what my next story will be about. This story will contain a condition not many people are aware of, in fact, my own child has a chromosome deletion similar to the one that will be explored in this story. My reason for this is that my journey has been an incredible, and stressful, one and if possible, to raise some awareness through writing.

Terminology for those who aren't familiar:

EHCP - Education, Health and Care Plan. This is a legally binding document listing out all the needs that a child with a special educational need or disability (SEND) has and how those who work in the education sector have to meet that child's needs to ensure they receive the correct support and ability to learn. To receive an education suited to their ability and needs. This legislation was brought in by the UK government in 2014 and sadly, the system isn't correctly shaped.

Chromosome deletion - where a person is missing a partial or larger part of a DNA in their chromosomes. Symptoms can vary person to person and it can affect people differently. Please bear in mind that I'm not a geneticist, I'm just a mother who has been through this and has had to learn about it along the way. For more information, please visit who are a very supportive charity.

Council - Every city, town, village etc has a local authority called a council which is essentially in charge of maintaining a community. Each council has different departments to make decisions and look after the community. For example, the education authority is where parents apply for school places for their children with another department in charge of allocating child with SEND to an appropriate education setting.

If I'm missing anything else that I've forgotten that you want to ask me about please PM me.

Another note, this story is a modern day setting in the fictional town of Meryton. If you don't like modern era stories written about the P&P characters, please stop reading after the author's note.

I'd like to also state that I doubt this story will be as dramatic as my others have been. Although, you may get a cliffhanger now and then ;)

Also, I know this story was originally supposed to be called Haven but I decided to change the title.

Disclaimer: The usual applies, I'm not Jane Austen.

Life Unexpected

Chapter One

The four little red numbers on the alarm clock changed from 07.59 to 8.00, setting off the morning alarm. A brunette woman who had been sleeping soundly in her bed let out a muffled groan, her hand lazily hitting the top of the clock to shut off the annoying sound. She rubbed her eyes fast, blinking as she stared up at the bright white ceiling as she rolled on to her back, the sunlight trying to burst into her bedroom through the small crack in the curtains. Another beautiful day. Another day that she had to adjust to having moved back to her childhood home.

"Lizzy? Elizabeth? I heard the alarm go off! Get your lazy backside out of bed." A shrill voice yelled on the other side of her locked bedroom door.

The brunette rolled her eyes. What wasn't helping her adjustment to living back in her childhood home was the fact that she had to live with her mother again.

"Elizabeth Bennet!" the voice shrieked loudly, "You should know better than to ignore your mother at twenty-five years of age."

Taking the hint that her mother wasn't going to allow her to lie-in, Elizabeth brushed the wavy brown locks out of her face and kicked back the covers, hauling herself out of bed and unlocked the bedroom door; only to see her mother was insistent on standing in the doorway.

"Ah, so you heard me then!" her mother tutted.

"Yes mother. The whole bloody street can hear you, you know." Elizabeth yawned.

"Get downstairs then for some breakfast. Your father has just boiled the kettle. We're going to need your help today." Her mother instructed.

"Why?" Elizabeth asked, letting out another yawn.

"Jane has a meeting to discuss her options for Lucy. So, we agreed to watch the twins today. And I need all the help I can get with your niece." Her mother said.

"You know, Lucy isn't as bad as you like to make out." Elizabeth replied defensively.

"That child can be the spawn of Satan! Besides, how would you know what she's like? You've been living away for the past five years!" her mother sneered.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she watched her mother retreat to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She headed downstairs and walked into the kitchen, giving her father a morning hug as she made herself a cup of tea.

"Did you sleep well?" her father asked.

"Soundly. Until mum decided to wake me up." Elizabeth replied.

"I'll have a word with her if you want." Her father offered.

"I'll bear it in mind."

As Elizabeth helped herself to some cereal and sat at the small, wooden kitchen table, she found herself thinking, not for the first time in her life, just how different her parents were. Thomas and Fran Bennet were complete opposites. Her father had preferred to take a relaxed approach to life, giving his three daughters the freedom they needed to make their own choices and to learn from their mistakes. Whereas Fran had always been one to instantly take control of things, to try and shape the path for her daughters the way she expected them to live their lives. Unfortunately, Fran was often disappointed by the choices that Jane, Elizabeth and Lydia had made.

"What time is Jane coming by?" Elizabeth asked.

"She's dropping the twins off at half-nine and her meeting with the education authority is at ten. The pre-school is closed today for training." Thomas replied, turning on the taps to fill the sink with soapy water to wash the dirty cups and plates used for breakfast that morning.

"It will be nice to spend some time with Peter and Lucy. I suppose there won't be much time when they start school in September." Elizabeth mused.

"No there won't. Your sister is so stressed out right now."

"Well given that Lucy hasn't been given a school space yet and Peter has, it's no wonder that Jane is stressed out."

Thomas turned to face her, turning off the taps and nodded sadly. Elizabeth's older sister Jane was twenty-nine and a single mother to four-year-old twins: Lucy and Peter. The twins were Elizabeth's only niece and nephew and she adored them, but she knew that it was difficult for Jane and had been from the moment that the twins had been born. While Peter fed well, slept well, developed and learned quickly, Lucy was different. And her niece's differences were apparent from when she was a few months old. Lucy couldn't latch on to breastfeed, she never slept through the night like Peter did, she didn't learn to sit, crawl or stand until very late. At two-years-old, Jane had finally been referred to specialists who ordered genetic testing for Lucy; only for her niece to be diagnosed with a chromosomal deletion syndrome which affected her development. Since then, the twin's father had walked out on them, leaving Jane to raise her son and daughter alone. And fight the many battles she had to just to get some help for Lucy.

"So, does Jane find out if the education authority will grant Lucy a place at a specialist school?" Elizabeth questioned.

Thomas shrugged.

"Well, she's been granted the EHCP but the Educational Psychologist, the Community Developmental Paediatrician, the Speech Therapist, the Physical Therapist and Occupational Therapist are all in agreement that mainstream school is unsuitable for Lucy's needs. So, I guess the meeting today is to discuss the options available to Lucy and whether Jane is going to be granted the transport to get her kid to the school." Her father answered.

"I'm sure the right decision will be made. If Jane is anything, she's a fighter for her children." Elizabeth stated.

"That she is. But the system should be straight forward. She shouldn't have to fight for help and chase professionals for appointments. That's what makes it more stressful." Thomas sighed.

"Sadly, the system won't change any time soon. Thanks to the bloody government." Elizabeth muttered.

"Well something needs to be done. This country is a bloody nightmare. We're just months away from leaving the EU and the bloody Prime Minister can't even negotiate our exit deal!" Thomas said angrily.

Elizabeth stayed silent. She knew better than to argue with her father when it came to politics. It was one area that her father was uptight about. He had his view on how things should be in the UK and nothing would change his mind about it.

Thomas went back to doing the washing up as Elizabeth ate her breakfast in silence. As she picked up the morning paper to read, she heard the front door open and close and her younger sister appeared in the doorway.

"Alright I'm here! Do you know how bloody hard it is to swap shifts at work? My manager says he won't approve any more shift swaps for me." Lydia complained.

Elizabeth looked up and smiled at her sister as Lydia took to a chair opposite her.

"At least you have a job, Lydia dear," Fran cooed, entering the kitchen, "Unlike your older sister!"

"I said last night that I would look online for some today. I've only been back home for a week!" Elizabeth argued.

"Mum, back off yeah? Lizzy has had a tough time as it is without you constantly nagging her." Lydia moaned.

"Fran, just because you are impatient and have this stupid need to get everything sorted straight away, doesn't mean we all do!" Thomas reminded in a sing-song voice.

"Oh well I'm sorry if I want our daughters to actually succeed at something!" Fran retorted.

Thomas dropped the sponge he had been using to scrub the cups and turned to face his wife and daughters.

"Be proud of who they are instead of the fictional images you have in your head of who they should be. Jane is a fantastic mother and still has a job despite the challenges she faces. Lizzy is making a fresh start. Lydia is studying at university, working part-time. Life is-"

"Full of twists and turns, you face bumps and obstacles along the way," Fran said in a bored tone, "I've heard that speech numerous times over the past thirty-years, Thomas."

"Well it's true. They aren't just sat on their backsides doing nothing!" Thomas said defensively.

Fran had nothing more to say on the subject, to which Elizabeth felt grateful. She watched as her mother pulled the hoover out of the kitchen cupboard and disappeared into the living room to start cleaning.

She knew that her mother was disappointed in her, more so than most. In truth, she hadn't thought she'd be back living with her parents at twenty-five. It wasn't what she had envisioned. Five years ago, she had been in her second year of university, engaged to the man she loved. She had finished her degree, had gotten married rather quickly and had moved away so her husband could start his career as a surgeon. And now, she was in the process of getting divorced, had been kicked out of the home she and her husband had shared, had to leave her job and move back in with her parents.

When she had finished her breakfast, she placed her bowl in the sink and headed back upstairs to change out of her pyjamas. She could hear her mother and Lydia arguing over Lydia's need to even be here today. Elizabeth made a mental note that her mother had probably nagged Lydia into changing her shift at the restaurant just so she didn't have to deal much with Lucy. Once she was dressed, she made her way downstairs and fired up her dad's laptop and searched the local job website at the latest job listings.

There wasn't much to go on, many places were advertising for warehouse staff at private parcel delivery companies which she didn't have experience with. A few others were for waiting staff which she did apply for (she couldn't afford to be picky) and after applying for a driving job for a local takeaway shop, she came across one listing that she found quite interesting.

Wanted. Child Minder.

Full time hours.

This position is for someone who can develop a strong bond with children. Must have some experience or qualification working with children. The role requires you to:

-School runs, morning and afternoon.

-Activities outside of school hours

-Evening routine such as homework, dinner and preparing the child for bedtime.

-Giving medication

-Be trained in first aid or be willing to go on a training course in first aid

Please Contact Alice Reynolds on the provided number to apply for this position.

This job role certainly took her interest, although she hadn't used her degree in Childhood and Youth Studies to work in the field she had wanted to. After her marriage, she had been expected to stay at home by her husband. Pulling her mobile phone out of her pocket, she dialled the number that she saw on the screen, leaving a voicemail message that she was interested in applying for the job and left the information of her contact details.

Just as she clicked the end of leaving her details on voicemail, she heard the front door bell ring. Getting up from the kitchen table, she walked out into the hallway and opened the front door, seeing a blonde haired, blue eyed boy staring up at her with a wide grin on his face.

"If it isn't my handsome little nephew!" Elizabeth greeted excitedly, bending down to his level and scooping him up in her arms.

Peter giggled as she hugged him tightly, his little arms wrapping around her neck before he was placed back on the ground.

"Hi aunty Lizzy." Her nephew replied.

"Where's your mummy?" Elizabeth asked.

But Peter didn't need to answer her question. Elizabeth heard a screaming coming from the parking bay outside the row of terraced houses that her parents house was part of. Stepping outside the front door, she walked away from the house and out on to the street, smiling sympathetically as she saw her older sister trying to wrestle a blonde haired, blue eyed girl out of the car.

"Luce, come on love, out we get." Jane panted.

Elizabeth walked over to the car, wrapping her arms around Lucy's legs as Jane wrapped her arms around Lucy's waist. The four-year-old girl continued to scream as Jane kicked the car door shut with her left foot. The two sisters carried the writhing four-year-old into the house before placing her carefully down on the hallway floor, locking the front door behind them as Jane and Elizabeth caught their breath.

"What on earth is all that noise?!" Fran Bennet yelled, walking down the stairs, feather duster in hand.

"Lucy is having a meltdown." Jane pointed out breathlessly.

Fran rolled her eyes, walking the rest of the way down the stairs and stepping over her granddaughter who was punching and kicking the carpet.

"Honestly, Jane dear, I don't know why you insist on letting her scream it all out. A good smack never hurt any of you when you stepped out of line!"

"And how many times must I repeat myself? I won't hit my kids. It's wrong. Besides, it would only make things worse!" Jane said stressfully.

"Well, there's no need to smack Peter. He's a good boy. So, what's the matter this time? You ran out of her favourite juice again? Her tablet broke?" Fran asked carelessly.

"I couldn't find her tablet so she couldn't watch Peppa Pig. You know it would help if you actually subscribed to the kid's channels when you offer to watch them. At least then you could record a few episodes of Peppa for her to watch." Jane complained.

"And how am I supposed to pay for it?" Fran asked.

"I offered to give you the money to cover the charge! You refused!" Jane scoffed.

As Lucy continued her meltdown in the hallway, Elizabeth rushed into the kitchen and pulled YouTube up on the internet. Typing in Peppa Pig, she quickly selected an episode and turned the volume up the entire way before heading back into the hallway and got on the floor with her screaming niece.

"Lucy…Lucy Goosey…shall we go watch Peppa?" Elizabeth sang, trying to lift her niece up.

But Lucy didn't want to co-operate. As Elizabeth lifted the little girl off the floor, she felt her niece sink her teeth into her left wrist.

"OUCH!"

"I'm so sorry, Lizzy…" Jane apologised, sinking to her knees.

Tears were streaming down Lucy's face as she continued to scream. Elizabeth clutched at her wrist as Jane managed to sit with Lucy in her lap, cradling her and rocking from side to side to try and soothe her daughter. She watched as Jane hummed the Peppa Pig theme tune to her niece and after ten minutes of soothing, Lucy had managed to calm down.

"Lucy, watch some Peppa Peg?" Lydia suggested excitedly, holding out her hand.

Lucy's eyes lit up with excitement as she bounced on her feet, jumping up and down as she took Lydia's hands and allowed herself to be led into the kitchen to watch her favourite show. Elizabeth and Jane stood to their feet, both looking exhausted. Jane handed over a large pink rucksack to Elizabeth, who took it and placed it over her shoulder.

"Spare clothes and nappies are in there. Along with two packs of wipes- hide the bag well because she's going through a phase of getting the wipes out and chucking them all over the place. There's also her Peppa stuffed toy and her juice cup, along with her PECS cards which you'll need to keep attached to you, so she can point and tell you what she wants. There are also some snacks in there for the two of them, Lucy's are in the pink box and don't let Peter near them, she'll throw a fit if she sees her brother with them. If she wants to go outside, there's sun cream in the inside pocket, along with their hats, but she probably won't want to wear it…" Jane rambled.

Elizabeth nodded, taking in everything her sister was saying.

"Also, she may get tired if you plan on taking them out, so her spare Maclaren Major is in dad's shed to take with you, so she can rest. If she falls asleep, make sure she has her Peppa toy with her, she won't sleep without it. I'm hoping to be back before lunch if the meeting only lasts the amount of time its meant to-"

"Jane, go. We'll be fine." Elizabeth said warmly.

"I'm really sorry that she bit you, but she doesn't mean it. She got me yesterday," Jane apologised, holding up her right wrist which was covered in a bandage, "drew blood."

"She can't help it. It's not like she's verbal. Like all the professionals have said, she's developmentally delayed and non-verbal, she doesn't process things the way that Peter would." Elizabeth said supportively.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Jane asked.

"Yes. Now get going, you'll be late otherwise." Elizabeth replied.

Jane said her goodbyes to Peter and left the house to go to her meeting. Elizabeth poked her head around the kitchen, seeing that Lucy had settled herself on Lydia's lap and the two were watching Peppa Pig on their dad's laptop. Lydia met her gaze, mouthing that she was fine with Lucy and that she had her own set of PECS, so Elizabeth headed out to the back garden to see her nephew kicking a football against the back wall.

"You alright mate?" Elizabeth asked.

Peter nodded, kicking the ball to her.

"Lucy was awake all night." Her nephew replied.

"Did she wake you up?"

Peter nodded.

"A lot of times. Mummy slept in Lucy's bed."

"You know that Lucy can't help it, she doesn't mean to wake you up?"

Peter nodded again, a sad expression on his face.

"Mummy told me. Is Lucy a naughty girl?" her nephew questioned.

Elizabeth shook her head.

"Lucy isn't a naughty girl. She doesn't talk like you can, so sometimes she gets a bit cross that she can't speak and tell us what's wrong. Like you can tell us if you feel a bit cross or sad. Lucy can't."

"But why?"

Elizabeth bit her lip. How could you explain to a four-year-old about missing bits of DNA and how it affects the way they think and act? It was a bit complex for a four-year-old to understand.

"It's just the way Lucy's made. But just because your sister is different, doesn't mean it's a bad thing. Lucy loves you and your mummy. And we all love you too." She said reassuringly.

"I know. Nanny says Lucy is naughty." Peter informed her.

"Nanny says a lot of things she shouldn't." Elizabeth sighed.

"Aunty Lizzy?"

"Yes Peter?"

"Can we play football?" Peter asked brightly.

"Of course, we can! And I'm going to win!" Elizabeth replied, kicking the ball to him.

Peter laughed.

"No! I win!" her nephew insisted.

The two spent much of the next hour kicking the ball against a goalpost that Elizabeth had drawn on the wall with some white chalk. After running around with Peter, she felt out of breath and stopped to take a break. As she sat down in one of the garden chairs, her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello, my name is Alice Reynolds. Is this Elizabeth Bennet?" the woman asked.

"Yes, that's me." Elizabeth confirmed.

"I'm calling about the voicemail you left enquiring about the job of child minder. I'd like to offer you an interview if that's convenient." The woman said brightly.

"Yes! That would be fantastic!" Elizabeth said enthusiastically.

"Great. Are you able to come to the home address tomorrow afternoon? I can email you the details over."

"Yes, I am free tomorrow afternoon."

As Elizabeth and the woman swapped over details and confirmed a time for the interview, she ended the phone call feeling positive that she had managed to land a job interview quite quickly. Heading back inside the house with Peter to get him a drink, she saw that Lydia and Lucy were still sat at the kitchen table watching repeated episodes of Peppa Pig on YouTube.

"Still going?" Elizabeth laughed.

"She's watched the same episode four bloody times now!" Lydia muttered.

"Shall we get the art box out in a minute? See if they want to do some messy play?" Elizabeth suggested.

"Might be a good idea but we'll have to do it in the garden, at least if they make a mess, we can hose it down. Mum will freak if they ruin the carpet." Lydia mused.

"But how do we encourage her to go out there? Is there a PEC card we can use?" Elizabeth asked.

"There's a paint splodge one that Jane made and uses when she does messy play with them. There's some large sheets of paper and mixing crates in the cupboard under the stairs if you wouldn't mind setting those up with Peter?"

"Sure."

Elizabeth hauled the equipment out of the downstairs cupboard and headed outside with Peter to set up. Once Peter had changed into an apron and began to put his hands in the paint, she headed back inside to help Lydia encourage Lucy to take part in some messy play. It took a while, with Lucy making a whining sound when they closed the laptop down. Eventually they had to carry Peter inside to show his sister that he was covered in paint, as well as using the PECS cards when eventually, Lucy slid off Lydia's lap and followed her brother and Elizabeth outside.

They tied the apron onto Lucy and watched her as she roughly pushed her hands into the paint, copying her as she placed her hands down on the paper. It was mostly footprints and handprints on the paper, with many paint splodges on the grass and the patio. But neither Elizabeth or Lydia cared about the mess. As Lydia had said, they could hose the garden down later to clean it up.

"Are we having fun?" Thomas asked, standing in the garden doorway.

"I think we are." Elizabeth replied.

"Any luck on the job hunt?" her father asked, sitting himself down on the patio.

"I've applied for a few. I've got a job interview tomorrow." Elizabeth said brightly.

"Well done. What's it for?"

"It's someone looking for a child minder. It's about time I try and use my degree for something."

"Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you." Thomas said positively.

"Thanks dad." Elizabeth smiled.

As the twins finished up with the painting, Lydia and Thomas took them both inside to wash whilst Elizabeth cleared up the painting supplies and hosed down the garden. As she placed the art and craft box back in its place, the front door opened and Jane stepped inside the house, closing the front door behind her.

"That was quick." Elizabeth commented.

But the look on Jane's face didn't show much emotion. Elizabeth noted how tired her sister looked, how the bags under her eyes made her look older than she actually was.

"The education authority agreed to place her in a specialist unit attached to Peter's primary school but it's not suitable. They can only offer her support for twenty hours a week. She needs at least forty which would include her break times and lunch times, her help with PE, her help in the afternoons. It would cover them changing her when she needs to be changed, her therapies and learning programme. Twenty hours only just covers the mornings." Jane sighed heavily.

"That's awful, Jane. Are you going to appeal?" Elizabeth asked.

"I want to. They can supply her with the funds to go to that specialist school which is a forty-minute drive from here, but they won't. They say that the school is full up. But what it really comes down to is the money. They want to support budget cuts to education and special education which means children like my daughter have to suffer for it!" Jane replied angrily.

"So, why not look into appealing this decision?"

"Lizzy it would take months! I first have to go to a mediator to see if we can mediate with the council to change their minds which is highly unlikely then I have to submit my appeal request along with any paperwork by a certain deadline. Then I have a twelve-week wait before I get my appeal date. It's a long process and she starts school in three months!"

"Is there anything I can do?" Elizabeth asked calmly.

Jane shook her head.

"Not really. But I appreciate the offer." Her sister sighed.

Elizabeth hugged her sister tightly.

"How do you do it? You look so exhausted but yet, you still go to battle to get Lucy what she needs." She whispered.

"I don't have a choice, Lizzy," Jane whispered back, "If I don't fight for my kids, who will?"

"It's not fair." Elizabeth muttered.

The two sisters released each other and shared a weak smile.

"It isn't fair," Jane agreed, "But I love my kids to bits. They're my world, you know?"

Elizabeth nodded, she did know. She could see just how much the twins meant to Jane. Her sister may look exhausted and in need of a break but the way that Jane interacted with her kids, the way that Jane did everything for Peter and Lucy, it was obvious just how much love there was between Jane and the children.

"If you ever need a break, just ask me and I'll babysit." Elizabeth offered.

"Thanks Lizzy, I appreciate it." Jane smiled.

Heading back into the living room, Elizabeth noted that a time of change was definitely beginning for her and her family.