Very nicely done. I don't usually read much WC fics because they seem to be overrun by slash (not that that's bad, just not my thing) but this caught me and by the time I read Neal's plaintive, "What am I gonna do?" I was tearing up.

I liked the backstory, too. I agree it's hard to write a backstory of someone who is, by necessity, such an enigma, but I like the almost Oliver Twist-like story of 'him' and his influence on young Neal. And I like how you had Peter realize that while Neal was a product of the experiences of his youth, he'd turned them inside out and became a better man.

Thanks for writing and sharing.