AN: OMG, I'm soooo sorry for not updating sooner. And thanks to everyone who reviewed. I think I just set a personal best for the number of reviews I got last time. Thank you Alexz, tommys21, Alexis, Tanya50801, Shannon, and Chloe. Your reviews are all that's keeping me going. You guys are awesome! So, to give back all the support and encouragement you've given me, your wish is my command. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Instant Star, but if I did, Jude and Tommy would be together already. And if you don't know by now, I love Jommy! Jude and Tommy forever!

Chapter 17: One Last Glance

While Jude sat in suspense, Tommy paced as the detectives argued as to how to rescue Jude now that they had a location. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, snapping his fingers in realization.

"I've got it!" Tommy said, startling them. "I know how we can rescue Jude. Here's what we'll do. Lisa, you and Andrew here will pretend to be a couple who are visiting the area from out of town. I know you've seen Nicole before, Andrew, but she hasn't seen you in years. Maybe she won't recognize you, but even if she did, we've got to take that chance. Lisa, you're OK, since Nicole's never seen you before, so that'd be our best bet. The rest of us will come in from all sides, so that she won't be able to escape. Andrew, get a rescue team and snipers here ASAP, in case there's a hostage situation. Once they get here, let's go get Jude."

"Sounds good to me," Andrew said, then got on the phone with the station. "Andrew here, I need some more backup…" He quickly filled in the police officer on the other line, and within the hour, a few more police officers pulled up in several unmarked cars.

"We're ready to go," one of them said, and everyone headed out to the address Jude had given them.

Once they got there, everyone assumed positions around the hotel, using their cellphones to communicate.

"Everyone in position?" One of the officers asked.

"Roger," everyone called out in turn, except Lisa and Andrew, who said, "We're approaching the entrance."

"Stay on the line, we want to know what's going on in case there's a problem."

"OK, we're in," Andrew said, taking the phone from Lisa while they went up to the concierge.

"Hi, I'd like a room for me and my husband please," Lisa said, smiling politely.

"Your names?" the concierge asked.

"I'm Karen James, and this is my husband Nick," Lisa said, quickly coming up with aliases.

"Do you have any preferences as to rooms?" the concierge said.

"Oh, yes, we want a room on the second floor. Preferably one with a view, but close enough to the stairs or elevator. My husband has a bad leg," Lisa said, glancing at Andrew pointedly. Andrew caught on quickly as Lisa gave an almost imperceptible nod at him to start limping.

Andrew interrupted by saying, "Excuse me," as his phone went off. He turned around and began limping away.

"I don't mean to be rude, or anything, but wouldn't you both like something on the first floor instead?" The concierge asked, concerned about the potential customers' physical ability.

"Oh, no, Nick simply has to have fresh air, and we don't get much of that with all the smokers around," Lisa laughed it off, and was secretly pleased when the concierge agreed with her.

"I can relate to that. I'm allergic to smoke. Whenever someone starts smoking close to me, I can't stand it. I start coughing and hacking so hard, people think I'm going to cough up my lungs," the concierge shuddered. He looked puzzled for a second, then commented, "That's funny."

"Excuse me?" Lisa was curious.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just that the room you asked for is similar to another client. Room with a view, close to the stairs or elevator…"

"Oh," Lisa wasn't sure what to make of this news. Was the person the concierge was talking about Nicole?

An awkward silence passed before the concierge cleared his throat nervously. "Would room 216 be OK?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yes, that's fine," Lisa said, absently picking off a speck of dust off her blouse.

A few minutes later, the concierge had everything ready. "Here you are," he said to Lisa, handing her the room keys. "Let me know if you need anything, OK?"

"Thank you," Lisa said, taking them from him. "Nick, we're on the second floor," she called out to Andrew, who took her cue and followed her.

Once upstairs, they walked around looking for clues. However, when anyone was around, they'd pretend to look around as if they were lost. A few times, they asked where a certain room was, only to be directed in the right direction. They would thank them and go in the direction that they had been told, but as soon as the other person was out of sight, they would go back to looking for clues.

A few hours later, about 3:00, they had taken a break and gotten settled in their room. Andrew had gone out to tell the others that so far, they hadn't found anything. He left the cellphone with Lisa, in case she came across anything.

Lisa began putting her clothes away, when she heard moaning coming from next door. She slipped out of her room and went to investigate. Suddenly, she had an idea. She went back to her room and got the housekeeping number and stuffed whatever she could into her luggage. Then she walked out and called them, pretending that she had locked herself out of her room.

The housekeeper looked at Lisa quizzically when she heard moans coming from the room.

"Is there something going on in there that I should know about?" she said, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

Lisa laughed. "Oh, no, I just left a movie on in there. It's a horror flick, and I love scary movies."

"If you say so," The housekeeper walked away once she got the door open.

"Thank you," Lisa said, slipping inside.

Lisa followed the sound of moaning until she finally located it. What she saw was enough to make her vomit. There before her was Jude, tied up and gagged, with bruises all across her jawline and face.

"OMG!" Lisa exclaimed, horrorstruck. She quickly rushed over, unbound Jude, grabbed her luggage, and brought her back to her room and to the bathroom.

"OW!" Jude moaned over and over again, as Lisa washed her bruises and cuts.

"Sorry, Jude," murmured Lisa apologetically. "You're safe now." Once she had finished rinsing the dried blood off of Jude, she called Andrew. "I've got Jude. Go get Nicole."

"I'm on it," Andrew said. It was time to unmask his identity.

He shed his persona as Nick as he strode confidently into the hotel with the other plainclothes officers.

"Excuse me," Andrew said, "Do you happen to know a Nancy Cooper?"

"Why yes," the concierge said, "Why do you ask?"

"Nancy Cooper is actually Nicole Blackburn. We have reason to believe that she abducted Jude Harrison and brought her here, to this hotel." Andrew said.

"What?" The concierge thought he was bluffing. "Who are you, and why are you making such strong accusations? I will not have my hotel's reputation by some crazy, impossible claim that…"

"That what?" Everyone turned as they saw Jude speak. She was propped up against Lisa, who had helped her downstairs.

"That this man, and these men, claim that you were kidnapped. Is it true?"

"Yes," Jude answered truthfully, without hesitating for a second. "Why don't you ask her?"

"Nancy?" The concierge walked over to the entrance to the back office. "Could you come out for a second?"

"Sure," Nicole called out cheerfully. Little did she know what she was about to walk into. She came out to where the front desk, her nose buried in some papers.

When she looked up, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She dropped the papers she was holding, and tried to run.

"Not so fast, Nancy," The concierge was used to dealing with high-volume clients, and stepping directly in her path, Nicole was quickly caught. "Or whoever you claim to be," He grabbed her wrists and dragged her over to the police.

"Let go off me," Nicole spat out, trying to squirm out of his grip. The concierge released her, but only after handcuffs were put on her and she was read her rights.

The police started dragging her away, and Jude called out, "Wait!" She walked up to Andrew, and asked, "May I?"

Andrew looked at Jude, and said, smiling, "As you wish." Jude grinned, still wincing as her injuries were far from healed, and punched Nicole hard. As she watched Nicole turn back and spit at her, Jude punched her again, and again, taking all her hours of torture and hurt, and giving it back to the one who had given it to her in the first place. Jude eventually broke down, but not before Tommy grabbed her and held her in his arms, soothing her and murmuring comforting words in her ear. Once Nicole was black and blue all over, she slowly got up, grimacing. "This isn't over, bitch."

Andrew said, "For you, it is. I'll personally see to it that you won't see daylight for a very long time. At least not where you're going. Take her away, officers." Nicole kicked and screamed as she was being dragged away, taking one last glance at Jude and Tommy together, and shooting a look of pure venom at Jude. After she was gone, there was an uncomfortable silence.

"Are you really police officers?" The concierge was still stunned. Nothing had ever happened like this before, at least not in his hotel.

Andrew and the other officers laughed as they pulled out their badges.

"Wow," The concierge said. "I always wanted to be a policeman, but I could never get enough courage to do it. Angry mobs are more my type."

"Sir, we'd like to check out now," Lisa said, after handing Jude over to Tommy. She walked over to Andrew, and said, "How much do we owe you for the time we were here?"

"After what I just witnessed? It's on the house," the concierge said, smiling. "Just do me a favor."

"What is it?" Andrew asked.

"Stay safe out there, you never know what kind of crazy people are out and about." The concierge said, in all sincerity.

"Trust me, we've seen it all. Nothing surprises us anymore," Andrew said, speaking for the group. They all nodded, affirming his statement.

"Thanks again!" the group said, before leaving.

Meanwhile…while Andrew and Lisa were talking to the concierge, Tommy and Jude held each other tightly.

"Jude," Tommy said, bringing her chin up to look her in the eyes. "I'm sorry…for everything."

"Tommy, it's OK. At least it's over…" Jude said, then turned away.

"Look, about Nicole…" Tommy said, as Jude started smiling. "What?"

"I can see why you and Nicole didn't work out," Jude said, as she started laughing.

Tommy joined in, and laughed with her. But their laughter only masked the inevitable question that they were so desperately trying to avoid: Are we still just friends, or are we something more?