I’m not 100% sure this is what you’re looking for, but the .. contents:: directive may help. By default, it’ll give you the headings for the whole page, wherever you put the directive. With :local: specified, it will generate a local TOC for the headings below where you put the directive (handy for sub-section tocs).
.. contents:: Table of Contents
:depth: 3
More details here: http://docutils.sourceforge.net/docs/ref/rst/directives.html#table-of-contents