Heart of Gold

The best little whorehouse in the middle of nowhere needs help. Nandi (Melinda Clarke) built the place up from nothing, but the warlord of the local backwater, Ranse Burgess (Fredric Lehne), apparently thinks the planet is his domain. Petaline (Tracy Leah Ryan), one of Nandi's workers, is pregnant, and Burgess thinks he's the father. He vows to come and take the baby away, against the mother's wishes, and it's clear that he'll have no problem killing anyone who gets in his way. With her back against the wall, Nandi sends out a distress call to Serenity. When Mal (Nathan Fillion) finds out the distress call is for Inara (Morena Baccarin), he asks, "This distress wouldn't happen to be taking place in someone's pants, would it?" But when Inara asks Mal to drop everything to go and help her old friend from her Academy days, Mal agrees without hesitation. Everyone on the ship agrees to help out, even Jayne (Adam Baldwin), once he finds out there are whores involved. After a brief encounter with Burgess, Mal sees how much money and firepower the man has, and suggests that Nandi and her people make a run for it. But Nandi refuses to give up what she's built, earning Mal's respect and admiration. The crew and the prostitutes prepare for battle, hoping that the element of surprise will give them a small edge. Unfortunately, one of the whores rats them out to Burgess, who rallies the menfolk in the town to show up armed for bear the next morning. As Simon (Sean Maher), Inara, and River (Jewel Staite) prepare to deliver the baby, Mal and Nandi have a heart-to-heart, and find themselves drawn ever closer to one another as the night goes on. This episode, included on the DVD, never aired on Fox.