This could be wish-fulfillment. By producing a scenario in which you earn praise and respect by saving others, your mind allows you to feel the satisfaction of being a hero without actually putting yourself in danger, since you are in the safe context of sleep. On a more symbolic level, those loved ones could represent yourself, so that the dream expresses your impulse toward self-preservation.
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Dreams generally are about the dreamer. In this dream, the "friend" probably symbolizes some aspect of the dreamer's own self. It suggests that the dreamer has managed to save, preserve or protect an important aspect of one's life, such as a career path, a creative expression or perhaps even by avoiding or recovering from some health issue.
It illustrates your longing for there to be some way that you could help or rescue this person. It is a type of wish-fulfillment, allowing you to achieve something in your fantasy that you probably cannot do in reality.