diff --git a/IPython/nbformat/v2/nbbase.py b/IPython/nbformat/v2/nbbase.py
index 00f893e..0b5b517 100644
--- a/IPython/nbformat/v2/nbbase.py
+++ b/IPython/nbformat/v2/nbbase.py
@@ -119,12 +119,14 @@ def new_text_cell(cell_type, source=None, rendered=None):
     return cell
 
 
-def new_heading_cell(source=None, level=1):
+def new_heading_cell(source=None, rendered=None, level=1):
     """Create a new section cell with a given integer level."""
     cell = NotebookNode()
     cell.cell_type = u'heading'
     if source is not None:
         cell.source = unicode(source)
+    if rendered is not None:
+        cell.rendered = unicode(rendered)
     cell.level = int(level)
     return cell
 
diff --git a/IPython/nbformat/v2/rwbase.py b/IPython/nbformat/v2/rwbase.py
index ae4e53d..7566b33 100644
--- a/IPython/nbformat/v2/rwbase.py
+++ b/IPython/nbformat/v2/rwbase.py
@@ -64,9 +64,7 @@ def rejoin_lines(nb):
                         item = output.get(key, None)
                         if isinstance(item, list):
                             output[key] = u'\n'.join(item)
-            elif cell.cell_type == 'heading':
-                pass
-            else: # text cell
+            else: # text, heading cell
                 for key in ['source', 'rendered']:
                     item = cell.get(key, None)
                     if isinstance(item, list):
@@ -92,9 +90,7 @@ def split_lines(nb):
                         item = output.get(key, None)
                         if isinstance(item, basestring):
                             output[key] = item.splitlines()
-            elif cell.cell_type == 'heading':
-                pass
-            else: # text cell
+            else: # text, heading cell
                 for key in ['source', 'rendered']:
                     item = cell.get(key, None)
                     if isinstance(item, basestring):
diff --git a/IPython/nbformat/v2/tests/test_nbbase.py b/IPython/nbformat/v2/tests/test_nbbase.py
index 5a90d35..d973c79 100644
--- a/IPython/nbformat/v2/tests/test_nbbase.py
+++ b/IPython/nbformat/v2/tests/test_nbbase.py
@@ -74,10 +74,12 @@ class TestCell(TestCase):
         tc = new_heading_cell()
         self.assertEquals(tc.cell_type, u'heading')
         self.assertEquals(u'source' not in tc, True)
+        self.assertEquals(u'rendered' not in tc, True)
 
     def test_heading_cell(self):
-        tc = new_heading_cell(u'My Heading', level=2)
-        self.assertEquals(tc.source, u'My Heading')
+        tc = new_heading_cell(u'hi', u'hi', level=2)
+        self.assertEquals(tc.source, u'hi')
+        self.assertEquals(tc.rendered, u'hi')
         self.assertEquals(tc.level, 2)