diff --git a/rcl/include/rcl/guard_condition.h b/rcl/include/rcl/guard_condition.h
index d1347a4..f4aefd3 100644
--- a/rcl/include/rcl/guard_condition.h
+++ b/rcl/include/rcl/guard_condition.h
@@ -20,8 +20,9 @@ extern "C"
 {
 #endif
 
+#include "rcl/allocator.h"
 #include "rcl/macros.h"
-#include "rcl/node.h"
+#include "rcl/types.h"
 #include "rcl/visibility_control.h"
 
 /// Internal rcl guard condition implementation struct.
@@ -50,34 +51,24 @@ rcl_get_zero_initialized_guard_condition(void);
 /* After calling this function on a rcl_guard_condition_t, it can be passed to
  * rcl_wait() and then concurrently it can be triggered to wake-up rcl_wait().
  *
- * The given rcl_node_t must be valid and the resulting rcl_guard_condition_t
- * is only valid as long as the given rcl_node_t remains valid.
- *
  * Expected usage:
  *
  *    #include <rcl/rcl.h>
  *
- *    rcl_node_t node = rcl_get_zero_initialized_node();
- *    rcl_node_options_t node_ops = rcl_node_get_default_options();
- *    rcl_ret_t ret = rcl_node_init(&node, "node_name", &node_ops);
  *    // ... error handling
  *    rcl_guard_condition_t guard_condition = rcl_get_zero_initialized_guard_condition();
  *    ret = rcl_guard_condition_init(
- *      &guard_condition, &node, rcl_guard_condition_get_default_options());
+ *      &guard_condition, rcl_guard_condition_get_default_options());
  *    // ... error handling, and on shutdown do deinitialization:
- *    ret = rcl_guard_condition_fini(&guard_condition, &node);
+ *    ret = rcl_guard_condition_fini(&guard_condition);
  *    // ... error handling for rcl_guard_condition_fini()
- *    ret = rcl_node_fini(&node);
- *    // ... error handling for rcl_node_fini()
  *
  * This function does allocate heap memory.
  * This function is not thread-safe.
  * This function is lock-free.
  *
- * \TODO(wjwwood): does this function need a node to be passed to it? (same for fini)
  *
  * \param[inout] guard_condition preallocated guard_condition structure
- * \param[in] node valid rcl node handle
  * \param[in] options the guard_condition's options
  * \return RCL_RET_OK if guard_condition was initialized successfully, or
  *         RCL_RET_ALREADY_INIT if the guard condition is already initialized, or
@@ -90,20 +81,17 @@ RCL_WARN_UNUSED
 rcl_ret_t
 rcl_guard_condition_init(
   rcl_guard_condition_t * guard_condition,
-  const rcl_node_t * node,
   const rcl_guard_condition_options_t options);
 
 /// Finalize a rcl_guard_condition_t.
-/* After calling, calls to rcl_guard_condition_trigger() will fail when using
+/* After calling, calls to rcl_trigger_guard_condition() will fail when using
  * this guard condition.
- * However, the given node handle is still valid.
  *
  * This function does free heap memory and can allocate memory on errors.
- * This function is not thread-safe with rcl_guard_condition_trigger().
+ * This function is not thread-safe with rcl_trigger_guard_condition().
  * This function is lock-free.
  *
  * \param[inout] guard_condition handle to the guard_condition to be finalized
- * \param[in] node handle to the node used to create the guard_condition
  * \return RCL_RET_OK if guard_condition was finalized successfully, or
  *         RCL_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENT if any arugments are invalid, or
  *         RCL_RET_ERROR if an unspecified error occurs.
@@ -111,7 +99,7 @@ rcl_guard_condition_init(
 RCL_PUBLIC
 RCL_WARN_UNUSED
 rcl_ret_t
-rcl_guard_condition_fini(rcl_guard_condition_t * guard_condition, rcl_node_t * node);
+rcl_guard_condition_fini(rcl_guard_condition_t * guard_condition);
 
 /// Return the default options in a rcl_guard_condition_options_t struct.
 /* This function does not allocate heap memory.
@@ -143,7 +131,7 @@ rcl_guard_condition_get_default_options(void);
 RCL_PUBLIC
 RCL_WARN_UNUSED
 rcl_ret_t
-rcl_guard_condition_trigger(const rcl_guard_condition_t * guard_condition);
+rcl_trigger_guard_condition(const rcl_guard_condition_t * guard_condition);
 
 /// Return the rmw guard condition handle.
 /* The handle returned is a pointer to the internally held rmw handle.
diff --git a/rcl/include/rcl/wait.h b/rcl/include/rcl/wait.h
index 5417433..c6559f2 100644
--- a/rcl/include/rcl/wait.h
+++ b/rcl/include/rcl/wait.h
@@ -87,8 +87,6 @@ rcl_get_zero_initialized_wait_set(void);
  *   ret = rcl_wait_set_fini(&wait_set);
  *   // ... error handling
  *
- * \TODO(wjwwood): consider the "fixed guard conditions", a la rmw's wait set.
- *
  * This function is thread-safe for different wait_set objects.
  * Thread-safety of this function requires a thread-safe allocator if the
  * allocator is shared with other parts of the system.
@@ -164,6 +162,9 @@ rcl_wait_set_get_allocator(const rcl_wait_set_t * wait_set, rcl_allocator_t * al
 /* This function does not guarantee that the subscription is not already in the
  * wait set.
  *
+ * Also add the rmw representation to the underlying rmw array and increment
+ * the rmw array count.
+ *
  * This function is not thread-safe.
  * This function is lock-free.
  *
@@ -185,6 +186,8 @@ rcl_wait_set_add_subscription(
 /// Remove (sets to NULL) the subscriptions in the wait set.
 /* This function should be used after passing using rcl_wait, but before
  * adding new subscriptions to the set.
+ * Sets all of the entries in the underlying rmw array to null, and sets the 
+ * count in the rmw array to 0.
  *
  * Calling this on an uninitialized (zero initialized) wait set will fail.
  *
@@ -213,6 +216,8 @@ rcl_wait_set_clear_subscriptions(rcl_wait_set_t * wait_set);
  *
  * After calling this function all values in the set will be set to NULL,
  * effectively the same as calling rcl_wait_set_clear_subscriptions().
+ * Similarly, the underlying rmw representation is reallocated and reset:
+ * all entries are set to null and the count is set to zero.
  *
  * If the requested size matches the current size, no allocation will be done.
  *
diff --git a/rcl/src/rcl/guard_condition.c b/rcl/src/rcl/guard_condition.c
index b4d30b3..51ff2c3 100644
--- a/rcl/src/rcl/guard_condition.c
+++ b/rcl/src/rcl/guard_condition.c
@@ -39,22 +39,15 @@ rcl_get_zero_initialized_guard_condition()
 rcl_ret_t
 rcl_guard_condition_init(
   rcl_guard_condition_t * guard_condition,
-  const rcl_node_t * node,
   const rcl_guard_condition_options_t options)
 {
   // Perform argument validation.
   RCL_CHECK_ARGUMENT_FOR_NULL(guard_condition, RCL_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENT);
-  RCL_CHECK_ARGUMENT_FOR_NULL(node, RCL_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENT);
   const rcl_allocator_t * allocator = &options.allocator;
   RCL_CHECK_FOR_NULL_WITH_MSG(
     allocator->allocate, "allocate not set", return RCL_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENT);
   RCL_CHECK_FOR_NULL_WITH_MSG(
     allocator->deallocate, "deallocate not set", return RCL_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENT);
-  // Ensure the node is valid.
-  if (!node->impl || rcl_node_get_rcl_instance_id(node) != rcl_get_instance_id()) {
-    RCL_SET_ERROR_MSG("node handle is invalid");
-    return RCL_RET_NODE_INVALID;
-  }
   // Ensure the guard_condition handle is zero initialized.
   if (guard_condition->impl) {
     RCL_SET_ERROR_MSG("guard_condition already initialized, or memory was unintialized");
@@ -81,16 +74,10 @@ rcl_guard_condition_init(
 }
 
 rcl_ret_t
-rcl_guard_condition_fini(rcl_guard_condition_t * guard_condition, rcl_node_t * node)
+rcl_guard_condition_fini(rcl_guard_condition_t * guard_condition)
 {
   // Perform argument validation.
   RCL_CHECK_ARGUMENT_FOR_NULL(guard_condition, RCL_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENT);
-  RCL_CHECK_ARGUMENT_FOR_NULL(node, RCL_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENT);
-  // Ensure the node is valid.
-  if (!node->impl || rcl_node_get_rcl_instance_id(node) != rcl_get_instance_id()) {
-    RCL_SET_ERROR_MSG("node handle is invalid");
-    return RCL_RET_NODE_INVALID;
-  }
   rcl_ret_t result = RCL_RET_OK;
   if (guard_condition->impl) {
     if (guard_condition->impl->rmw_handle) {
diff --git a/rcl/src/rcl/wait.c b/rcl/src/rcl/wait.c
index 12c0021..1b84a1c 100644
--- a/rcl/src/rcl/wait.c
+++ b/rcl/src/rcl/wait.c
@@ -140,11 +140,7 @@ rcl_wait_set_init(
   wait_set->impl->rmw_services.services = NULL;
   wait_set->impl->rmw_services.service_count = 0;
 
-  static rmw_guard_conditions_t fixed_guard_conditions;
-  fixed_guard_conditions.guard_conditions = NULL;
-  fixed_guard_conditions.guard_condition_count = 0;
   wait_set->impl->rmw_waitset = rmw_create_waitset(
-    &fixed_guard_conditions,
     2 * number_of_subscriptions + number_of_guard_conditions + number_of_clients +
     number_of_services);
   if (!wait_set->impl->rmw_waitset) {
diff --git a/rcl/test/rcl/test_subscription.cpp b/rcl/test/rcl/test_subscription.cpp
index 9184609..72a7af7 100644
--- a/rcl/test/rcl/test_subscription.cpp
+++ b/rcl/test/rcl/test_subscription.cpp
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ TEST_F(CLASSNAME(TestSubscriptionFixture, RMW_IMPLEMENTATION), test_subscription
   //  Process     : test_subscription__rmw_opensplice_cpp <23524>
   //  Thread      : main thread 7fff7342d000
   //  Internals   : V6.4.140407OSS///v_topicNew/v_topic.c/448/21/1455157023.781423000
-  const char * topic = "chatter_int64";
+  const char * topic = "rcl_test_subscription_nominal_chatter_int64";
   rcl_publisher_options_t publisher_options = rcl_publisher_get_default_options();
   ret = rcl_publisher_init(&publisher, this->node_ptr, ts, topic, &publisher_options);
   ASSERT_EQ(RCL_RET_OK, ret) << rcl_get_error_string_safe();
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ TEST_F(CLASSNAME(TestSubscriptionFixture, RMW_IMPLEMENTATION), test_subscription
   rcl_ret_t ret;
   rcl_publisher_t publisher = rcl_get_zero_initialized_publisher();
   const rosidl_message_type_support_t * ts = ROSIDL_GET_TYPE_SUPPORT(std_msgs, msg, String);
-  const char * topic = "rcl_test_subscription_chatter";
+  const char * topic = "rcl_test_subscription_nominal_string_chatter";
   rcl_publisher_options_t publisher_options = rcl_publisher_get_default_options();
   ret = rcl_publisher_init(&publisher, this->node_ptr, ts, topic, &publisher_options);
   ASSERT_EQ(RCL_RET_OK, ret) << rcl_get_error_string_safe();