The Doctor thought that, after so much pain, at least his death would be peaceful.
Well, no.
A second after he had closed his eyes, he opened them wide again when his throat seemed to burst into flames as if he had swallowed a ball of fire. He couldn't help but to scream in pain, letting go of the last trace of air he had left. He tried to swallow some water from the pond, but nothing seemed to diminish the suffering. His mind went crazy from the pain, and the scenario began to change. First, he was falling off a cliff, now breathing, just to start screaming again. When he was inches away from the ground, he closed his eyes, waiting for the impact, but it never happened.
He started floating as if the gravity was out. He opened his eyes and saw he was in space, right in front of the Earth. The view was incredible, and though it was nothing he wasn't already used to, he was always amazed by the planet's majesty. And he could breathe. That was good, once he assumed that his burning throat meant that River had already given him the antidote, which meant he didn't have to die.
He was still in great pain, but it was bearable now. All he had to do was stay calm until the effects kick in, and the beautiful view and the silence were really helping. But it was taking longer than he thought it would, and patience wasn't really his virtue. He still didn't know how to control the dream to make time go by faster, and he decided to try something. He focused as hard as he could without worsening his headache, and when he looked around, Amy was right next to him, now all grown up.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" She asked, looking at the planet with tenderness. "Me and Rory..." She said, pointing at a spot in Europe and taking The Doctor's hand. "We're right there."
They remained silent for a moment, just holding hands and contemplating the planet.
"We miss you. I miss you." She said, looking at him.
"You're just saying that because I want you to. Because you're inside my head."
"But you know it's true. I waited so long for you, do you really think I would forget you so fast? Five different therapists couldn't make me let go of you when I was a kid. You are my best friend. And you always will be."
The Doctor' sight started to get blurry. "You're waking up now." She said, letting go of his hand. "Say hi to my daughter for me, would you?" And everything turned black.
When he woke up, he wasn't tied to a chair anymore. He was laying on his bed, in one of the many rooms inside the tardis, with River sleeping in a chair next to him, holding his hand. He stood up, barely feeling any pain now, picked her up and put her in his bed, covering her with blankets. He kissed her in the forehead and whispered a soft "thank you" in her ear. He couldn't even imagine everything she had done for him, and couldn't help thinking that her day would soon come, and it would be because of him. River would die saving him. But he was glad that, in that moment and place, she was right next to him. And that was everything he needed to remain sane.
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So that's it folks, hoped you all enjoyed the story, thank you so much for reading, and I'll let you know if I write anything else. You guys are awesome.