Donna Strange was born two minutes apart from her twin brother, Timothy. Having both parents being doctors meant they didn't necessarily spend a lot of time together as a family, but Christine and Stephen found a way to make it work. While her brother's favorite parent was obvious (painfully so), DJ's favorite person was her brother, and that was all she cared about. 

Their entire lives shifted after Stephen's accident. It wasn't just that he was in pain; he was depressed, and angry, and it completely changed the dynamics of the family. The hardest part for DJ was that he couldn't sign to her anymore, and had to rely on her mom or brother to interpret for him. For a long time, DJ thought that was part of why he left them. During the time Stephen was gone, Timothy Moth was diagnosed with autism, which wasn't too much of a surprise. It didn't change much for them other than explain some of her brother's behaviors. Eventually, their dad came back, but he was different. Happier (sort of), but also a superhero.

Life settled back down, and the Palmer-Strange family found a new normal. DJ was able to talk to her dad again; his injuries still made it difficult, but he was able to at least sign a few things to her, and he also found a few spells that allowed for easier communication. Then an intergalactic threat to the universe descended from the sky, and her dad was running off yet again. He promised to be back, and they believed him. . . But a few days turned into a week, which turned into a month, which turned into five years. During that time, Moth and DJ moved through middle school and into high school; they were juniors when Stephen came back. Everyone had a lot of feelings, and they all reacted differently; DJ seemed to warm back up to him the fastest.